Jhondie & Justin 8 Gen X6
by Cat Carroll
Summary: The two worlds finally collide in the story that explains what the heck Justin was doing with the Red Disposables and the whole aftermath.
1. Welcome Back

Jhondie & Justin (8) - Gen X-6  
  
Rated: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: Eight stories into the series, and these things are getting pretty old. Sigh. Yet again, Dark Angel and all that associated with it belong to James Cameron. I'm borrowing it because someone has to keep the show alive and he failed miserably at the task. The original characters are mine (and for the record, I *so* wish I had real Justin all for myself ) and this story is only to be archived with permission. Shall we get on with it?  
  
A/N: YES! It is here! This is the one where the two worlds finally come together. I've been looking forward to this tale for quite some time. Actually, since I wrote the original X-6. Heh. Anyways, if you have not read Gen X-6, which is the story that spawned the J & J series, YOU WILL BE MOSTLY LOST THIS WHOLE WAY. You'll get the first few chapters, but then it's going to go off in left field and by the end, you'll be sending me nasty reviews reminiscent of The Matrix Reloaded. In any case, it's a good idea to take a day, read that one, and then come back to this. I'll wait. Go on! Read now! Done? Good. But before we continue.........REVIEW!! Let me know there are people still out there reading, okay? This is important to a review junkie, trust me. Okay, I'll shut up now. Time for Jhondie to start talking.....  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Jhondie  
  
I didn't know the real beginning until later when Kayla and I were able to talk about it calmly. Well, mostly calmly. I was listening calmly and Kayla was still so thrilled about what had happened that she was bouncing up and down retelling the events of that fateful day when she got out of school and a surprise visitor had shown up. I had been in school myself; dissecting a brain and labeling all of its parts, blissfully unaware how drastically my world was going to be forever changed.  
  
Kayla got out of school like normal that day and was hanging around while one of her friends finished talking to a teacher about some problems she was having on the homework. Kayla and two other girls lived within a block of each other and they always walked home together. Everything was going like typical, including hearing a few crude comments from a few of Frankie's crew that were smoking out in the parking lot. I didn't know that she was still having problems with those boys or else it would have ended long ago. But that's beside the point. She ignored them as she waited with Marguerite. They were in ballet together and talking about an upcoming recital as they waited for Amber to finish up with Mr. Mullins. Not a single thing was out of the ordinary.  
  
That is, not until a motorcycle came roaring into the parking lot, making the turn by bare inches. The rider wasn't wearing a helmet and Kay recognized him immediately. Zack. She didn't so much as flinch as he locked the tires, skidding sideways to a stop a few inches from where she was standing her ground as everyone else was diving to safety. Kayla had mentioned having an older male friend to her little friends, but most of them thought that was a scare tactic for Frankie. Frankie was the school bad ass. There was no way that Kayla actually knew someone cooler than him and that included the rich guy her sister was supposed to be getting married to.  
  
But there he was. Sweaty dark blonde hair, black leather jacket and an expression that would put a chill into the heart of the most hardened criminal. Most of the girls were either in awe or in lust in that second. Zack's eyes narrowed on Kayla coldly. "Where's Jhondie?" he asked, his voice low enough so that she was the only one who could hear him.  
  
Up until that summer before, Zack would never have needed to ask where I was. Zack always knew where I was or where I would be. In a city the size of Los Angeles, he probably knew where I was going to be at any given moment within a five-block radius. He knew my school schedule and where all of my classes were. I had no doubt that he might even be able to tell me what I had for dinner the night before and possibly what color underwear I had on. But over the summer, we had a bit of a falling out to put it mildly. I made a huge mistake and decided to come clean about everything that had been going on. I started with telling him about Eyes Only and never even got the chance to tell him that Justin and I were getting married.  
  
His reaction was, to say the least, extreme. I didn't even get the chance to tell him that I had cut way back on the work I used to do for the boss and by the time I hit medical school, it was going to come to a complete stop. I would have sworn that Eyes Only had done something to personally offend Zack in some way or take something important from him. I had no idea where the volcanic anger came from, but the result came down to an ultimatum. I was going to leave LA with him right then or else.  
  
I probably could have handled things better than telling him to go to hell. Probably. At least I could have maybe not added flipping him off while telling him. He did leave. Two days later I checked the contact number. It was disconnected. He was really serious this time. I didn't really think that he would stay away from me forever, but I honestly thought it would be at least a couple of years before I saw him again. Realistically, I was thinking more that I would be Dr. Harris, no, Dr. Carter, the next time we saw each other.  
  
However, there was a consequence that he hadn't imagined. When an emergency cropped up that was so severe he did come for me, he had no idea where I was. He had swung by my house and Justin's but nobody was home in either place and he knew time was not on his side. He was going to give me one chance and then he was gone. The only other place I might be was school but we're talking a huge campus. There was no way he could find me there without drawing attention to himself by going into admin and asking what my schedule was and where I would be.  
  
But he did know where Kayla went to school and he did know that she should be getting out around then. And chances were, she would know exactly where I was. He took the chance and there she was.  
  
When Zack demanded to know where I was, Kay checked her watch. "She should be in class," she replied. "Long lab today. It's the one where she always smells like preservatives when she comes home." Kayla was practically glowing with excitement. Her classmates didn't know what was being said, but they didn't need to know either. The scene was what mattered. "Want me to show you where her class is?" Kayla asked.  
  
She wouldn't have known, or cared really had she known, but the fact that Zack allowed her to assist in even that small capacity spoke volumes about the danger that was rapidly approaching. "Get on," he ordered sharply. Kayla excitedly jammed her arm through the other strap of her backpack and crawled up behind him on the bike. And that was when the four boys encircled the motorcycle.  
  
"I thought Frankie told you the way it's going to be," one of the punks called out to Kayla. They were part of his gang and even if Frankie had been expelled a few weeks before for possessing a gun on campus, they were going to enforce his rules. And one of his rules was that the little blonde on the bike was not going to be going on a single date with any guy for the rest of her high school days. Dude might have a leather jacket and a hot bike, but there were four of them. Poor kids. They had no idea what they were getting into dealing with a pissy Zack.  
  
One of the guys pulled out a knife as he smirked at Zack. "Sorry man," he sneered. "But the bitch is off-limits." He had come closer to the bike and tried to lunge forward and puncture the back tire so that they couldn't get away. It might have worked, but this was Zack they were dealing with.  
  
Kayla said the expression on the kid's face was priceless when he was stopped, knife bare inches from the tire. Zack's hand was clamped mercilessly around his wrist. Kay got a thrill because Zack had jerked back, his head practically in her lap to get to the kid in time. Zack pushed hard, flinging the kid back roughly, the knife clattering to the pavement.  
  
"I have no time for this," Zack growled when he sat up and eyed the other three boys that were blocking his path. Alone, he might have taken off, but that would have required some fancy driving and since Kay wasn't used to that sort of thing, she could overbalance and knock them both over. The other three boys stood there silently for a moment, confusion replacing the arrogance on their faces. What they had considered to be such a bad ass before was now starting to pale in comparison to the guy in front of them.  
  
The fourth boy had gotten to his feet, his pride far more wounded than his body. He had no idea right then how lucky he was. He looked at his comrades angrily. "Don't just stand there!" he yelled. "Get him!"  
  
Kayla said that one second Zack was sitting still on the bike and the next he was ripping into those punks like a little kid angry at a toy. When I get into a fight, I have this whole pity factor thing. I don't really want to hurt people. Usually. Zack lacks that. Within a few seconds, all four boys were either unconscious or crawling away from the demon that had showed up in a black leather jacket. They were just lucky that Zack was in too much of a hurry to finish them off. As he got back onto the bike, Kay oh-so-casually pulled out her necklace with the motorcycle charm on it from where it had gotten tucked inside of her shirt. Not a single witness could mistake the message. She had in fact gotten it from an older friend and he was rather...protective.  
  
Zack swung back onto the motorcycle and they tore out of the parking lot. Kayla had gone with me when my classes started that semester when I got my schedule and found all of my classes. The kid actually had a pretty good head for directions so she remembered where the rooms all were.  
  
Where I was at that moment was in the science building, happily started the lab assignment. I had made sure that classes were in the morning and lab was the last thing I would do that day because let me tell you, nobody wanted to get close to you after lab. It reeked in there. I didn't notice the smell much anymore because I was concentrating so hard on what I was doing as I sliced into the cow's brain in the pan in front of me. Neurobiology was off to a great start as an interesting class. I was fascinated at any rate and had decided that if I couldn't go into trauma surgery, then I was going to seriously consider neurosurgery. The brain is the body's greatest mystery. Half of my textbook could be summed up with the phrase "we have no idea how it works, it just does".  
  
The door to the lab opened, making the teaching assistant scurry over quickly to kick out whoever was trying to get in. My professor was death on people showing up late to classes and labs and the TA's knew to refuse entrance to anyone who wanted to come in late. I was looking down, concentrating hard on the organ in front of me when I heard someone say my name.  
  
I glanced up and almost dropped my scalpel. Kayla was standing at the door with Zack behind her. That was a combination that I never thought I would ever see in this life. I excused myself from my team and hurried to the door, stepping out into the hallway. The TA lingered for a second, but the look Zack shot him made the guy shut the door quickly. I was feeling sick. There was only one thing I could think of to get Zack to show up again this soon.  
  
"We need to go now," he said firmly, giving me my one and only chance. My stomach clinched convulsively and for a second I almost did throw up. No. There was no time to get emotional. It was time at long last to be a soldier. I gave Zack a curt nod and then went back into the lab, telling them something about a family emergency. I grabbed my stuff and walked out briskly, not able to help wonder if I would ever see these halls and rooms ever again.  
  
"Is he in LA already?" I asked in a low voice as we strode out of the building. "On approach or is there time?"  
  
"Not critical, but rapidly approaching," Zack responded. "Time is very short."  
  
I nodded. "Meet me at Justin's," I said. "I need to drop her off and there's some gear there I want to have." Zack didn't make a comment about this being proof that ties did nothing but slow you down. I think he could tell that I knew then I would be better off if Kayla wasn't with me.  
  
Kayla had been looking really excited. But now her excitement was turning into distress. "What's wrong?" she asked. I couldn't explain. "Jhondie, what's wrong?" she insisted. "Who's coming?"  
  
I sighed. "Ride with me," I ordered as we got to my car. Zack was illegally parked out front. "Zack, you know where it is?" He nodded. He had never been there before that I knew of, but he still knew where it was. Figures.  
  
"What's happening?" Kayla cried when I got into the car and pulled out into traffic. At that moment I truly wished that I had never settled down. This was already hurting way too much for one person to handle.  
  
"I have to go," I said quickly. Her blue eyes got huge. "Manticore is coming for me. Zack got here a little ahead of them, but there's not much time, so I have to go."  
  
"When are you coming back?" she asked me in a tiny voice.  
  
"I'll...I don't know," I admitted. "If they don't know about you guys, then I'll try to come back just as soon as they leave. If they're watching you and Mom, then..."  
  
"Then never," Kayla finished, her voice rough with tears. "You're leaving and you're not coming back."  
  
"I didn't say that!" I replied quickly. "I just don't know how long they would watch you guys and it's not safe for me to be in contact while they're waiting for me to show back up." I was going to have to find out if they did know whom I was or if it was just that an X-5 was in the city. I could leave with Zack right then and let Justin know. He would be able to get Mom and Kayla out of danger. Oh God, but who was going to protect Justin? Crap. This was what Zack had been preaching about for all these years. I had been in a safe little cocoon this whole time thinking I was under the radar and now a big dose of ice-cold reality had poured over me. Zack was right. I hated him for it, but he had been right the whole time.  
  
Kayla looked at me mournfully. "They'll watch us forever won't they?"  
  
"I'm hoping they don't know about you at all," I said, a hopeful thought forming. "Maybe it's all of my Eyes Only stuff catching up to me. There's been some pretty spectacular stunt work to get some of it and maybe Lydecker is starting to wonder, so he's going to check it out. If that's the deal, then I just have to lay low for a while, you know?"  
  
She just stared straight ahead. I didn't know what else to say. There wasn't a way to make her understand. I was just going to have to run and hope for the best. Maybe Mom would be able to explain it to her. I wished there was time to talk to Mom, but if Zack said time was short, then I wasn't going to take the risk of them zeroing in on me when I was around the people that I loved the most.  
  
We got to Justin's and I grabbed a few things. Some fake ID's, an unregistered gun and cash. Zack wasn't thrilled with the delay, but when he saw the ID's that just needed a picture stuck on them, I think he was a little happier with the delay. As much as I had pretended this day would never come, I had still been prepared for the possibility. I had grabbed my bag and went back into the living room. Kay was sitting on the couch, her blue eyes full of tears that she was trying not to shed.  
  
I glanced at Zack and then went to her and hugged her. "I love you, Kay," I whispered. "You and Mom and Dad have been the best part of my life. No matter how long it is before I see you again, don't ever forget that."  
  
She hugged me back, letting out a sob. "I'm sorry for every time I was mean to you," she sobbed. "And I'm sorry for reading your diary and telling Phil Loman that you liked him and for...for..."  
  
"It's okay," I said with a little smile. "It's all okay." I kissed her forehead. "See you later."  
  
She sniffed and nodded. I stood up and faced Zack, my eyes dry, face set. "I'm ready," I said firmly. He nodded and turned just at the door opened and Justin walked through. His smile faded into confusion as he took in me, Zack and Kayla.  
  
"Did I miss something?" he asked, coming in and closing the door.  
  
"Lydecker's on his way," I said quickly. "Zack said there's not much time and I don't know if he knows who I am or not." I went to say more when Justin said three words that nearly knocked me off of my feet.  
  
"Lydecker's in Seattle." 


	2. A New Enemy

Justin  
  
If I had thought I had the slightest chance on Zack, I would have killed him right then and there. Son of a... He must have thought long and hard about what could take Jhondie away from LA and her life here. There was only one thing that would make her leave with him and that was Lydecker. He made it seem like she was now a threat to her family and knew she would rather walk than put us in danger by staying.  
  
"I keep an eye on Lydecker," I said coldly. "For some reason, it's important to me to know where the guy is. As of yesterday morning he was safe and snug in Seattle and my source said that he's been there for a while and has no plans on going far."  
  
"Zack..." Jhondie breathed, too shocked to really say anything more. I knew all about her little falling out with Zack. He might not like the fact she was happy here, but he was messing with the woman that was to be my wife. I had my morals. I had my principles. But where Jhondie was concerned, they went right out the window. I would do anything for her. And if that meant saying or doing something that would get Zack out of her life forever, than I didn't care. He was not going to come in and take her away for no reason at all. He was her brother. But I was to be her husband. I win.  
  
"I never said it was Lydecker," Zack snapped at her. "You are the one that assumed."  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "So you thought you would just scare the hell out of me and see what happened." Her hands were clinched in fists and my only concern was to make sure Kayla got out of the way when the fight broke out. This time, she was furious and she wasn't blinded by grief. Zack was going to have a hard time winning.  
  
Zack faced her directly. "You think Lydecker is the worst thing after us? Quit dreaming soldier. Manticore is not the only enemy out there."  
  
Jhondie look at me, our eyes meeting and both asking and answering the same question. Do you have idea what he's talking about? The answer was no from both of us. The people in Seattle that were looking to make a transgenic were neutralized. Who else was out there that would put the fear of God into Zack?  
  
"What, think I can't play rough with someone wanting a little piece of this genetic code?" Jhondie snapped.  
  
"Think you can put your hand through a steel door?" Zack sneered. "They can."  
  
"If there's a transgenic that's not Manticore and that much better, than what the hell do they need an X-5 for?" I demanded. Zack only glared at me, but screw that. I was in on this too. "Don't get pissed at me if you're not the best available anymore," I snapped.  
  
Jhondie crossed the room so that she was standing beside me. Which, I might add, was exactly where she belonged. With me, not him. "I'm not leaving until you start talking," she said evenly. "If there's something new out there, then I have the right to know."  
  
Zack glanced at Kayla who was watching the scene, agape with surprise, and then back at Jhondie. Jhondie blew out a breath and rolled her eyes. "Kayla go in the other room," she ordered.  
  
"Get bent!" Kay cried out. "Hello! Family? If Justin's involved, then so am I!"  
  
"Kayla!" I snapped. She blinked at my sharp tone. "Go!" I swear to God, later I realized I sounded more like my father than I ever had before in my life. Kayla gave me her best "hurt" look and then went into my office to pout.  
  
"They're called the Red Disposables," Zack finally said. "Out of South Africa. They aren't transgenic. There's an implant they have that reworks their nervous system in a way that blows us out of the water. Their problem is that in six months, it kills them. They need some specialized DNA to put in themselves so they can extend their lives." He glared at Jhondie hard. "You swore you would never be a lab rat again. They don't want soldiers. They want spare parts."  
  
Jhondie swallowed hard. "Do they know me personally?" she asked.  
  
"They know there's an X-5 in LA. And they're already here. They will find you and I'm not sticking around to bail you out. You can't take one on, Jhondie. I can't take one on." Zack glared at me for a second. "And they have no problem killing anyone else who gets in their way."  
  
"And I'm supposed to hear that and leave my family to their mercy?" Jhondie asked hotly.  
  
Zack snorted disdainfully. "Won't slow you down, huh? Would make you leave faster to protect them, that's what you said, right?"  
  
"Manticore is a little different then some unknown quantity," she snapped back. "They'd watch. You're saying these guys kill first, ask later, right?"  
  
She was still too furious with Zack for leading her on like he did to even contemplate being reasonable. And the odd thing is that I don't think he knew that at all. Later, I could think about how sad that was that after all this time; he didn't know her at all. He knew so much about her, but he didn't really know her anymore. He expected her to think of the danger to herself and take care of it. Was he insane?  
  
Lucky for him, there was me. I knew her. And more importantly, I wanted her to stay safe. There were plans that required her safety like our marriage and having a family and dying of old age within seconds of each other. Jhondie and Zack were still engaged in a glaring contest when I spoke up.  
  
"Jhondie, can you do me a favor and do that research in Las Vegas for me a few days earlier than planned?"  
  
Jhondie rounded on me so fast; I thought she was going to burn a hole in the carpet. "What?" she cried out, her voice high with shock. Even Zack blinked, totally amazed at what I just said. "Don't you dare tell me you're taking his side!"  
  
We needed to discuss this with a little more privacy than with Zack standing there glowering over ever word that was said. Not to mention, he didn't know we were engaged. Jhondie hadn't been able to tell him before and she wasn't wearing her ring right now. I wasn't offended. She never wore any jewelry on lab days. It was either on a chain around her neck or on the dresser in my bedroom. It would just depend on where she had gotten dressed that morning.  
  
"Excuse us," I said to Zack, taking her hand and leading her outside to the balcony. Zack wasn't happy, but he was going to deal with it. I think he knew instinctively that there was only one person in the world that could convince her to leave Los Angeles right now.  
  
"You have got to be insane if you think I'm leaving," she said in a low voice the second the door shut. "If, and this is a big if because right now Zack isn't exactly high on the trust scale, if I can't take one on, then how the hell are you going to if they come after you?"  
  
"They're not going to come after me," I replied quickly. "If, and this is a big if, if somehow they managed to do what Manticore has been trying to do for ten years and actually know who you are, they're going to watch for you. They're going to know that you've spent your life in hiding and aren't going to come out if you think something's off. They are going to think of you as a Manticore soldier and that's what a soldier would do. They'll lie in wait for you but I don't think they'll be all that shocked when you disappear. They'll hear me and your mom wailing about how you disappeared without a trace and ran off with your old boyfriend and they'll give up and go after the next X-5."  
  
"I'm supposed to just let you take all of the risks?" she whispered, her voice shaky. "I can't do that."  
  
Gently, I took her face in my hands, our eyes probing deep into each other's. "Yes you can," I said softly. "Please, Jhondie. I've learned to let you take a lot of risks because there are things that you can do that I can't. Now you have to let me take a few because I can be just an ordinary guy. They're not going to bother with me. Please. You were going to go to Vegas next weekend anyways. Just got now and let me check out what's going on."  
  
"And what if they do know?" she asked painfully. "What if they're not just running on intel that somewhere in the city is an X-5? If they are anything like Manticore, then they'll lie in wait for years."  
  
"In that case you and I are going to have a beautiful home in Mexico after we get married there," I replied. We had worked out a lot of contact codes and codes for places long ago, just in case the worst came to worst. We could a hold of each other and apprise on movements. "It's going to be hard not seeing you for a while until you throw them off of your trail, but when you get to where you feel safe, you know how to reach me." Actually, it would be an interesting test of my new cell phone. New technology was in it that was sworn only God himself could track it. I had done some tests with Eyes Only and so far it proved right. As a matter of fact, he said he was getting a couple for some of his Seattle-based operatives.  
  
"I can't ask..." she started but I leaned over and kissed her softly.  
  
"You don't have to," I answered for her. "I told you that a long time ago. You just have to give me time to catch up, remember?"  
  
She nodded and then her arms wrapped around my neck. I didn't care who was watching as I held her tightly. "I love you," she said softly.  
  
"I know."  
  
She looked up at me. "Promise me that if you need me, you'll call."  
  
"I always need you, you know that," I tried to tease her, but she wasn't even breaking a smile. "I promise."  
  
She hugged me again and then stepped back, taking a breath and wiping her eyes so that they were dry. "Okay," she said firmly. "Okay."  
  
We went back inside and Kayla was once again sitting on the couch, her chin up defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on," she declared.  
  
"Good," Jhondie said. "That's exactly where you're going to stay until Justin gets back." Kay's jaw dropped.  
  
"That's not what I meant!" she yelled.  
  
Jhondie smirked and for a second, I saw a passing resemblance to Zack. "I know," she said, kneeling in front of her sister, taking her hands. "You have to trust me on this one. Okay? Just hang tight here and hopefully, it'll all work out."  
  
"You're still going to go?" Kay asked. She looked up at me angrily. "You were supposed to keep her here."  
  
"I'm going to keep her safe," I corrected. "I promise I'll make sense of it when I get back. I won't be long." And Zack did not look happy that I was going anywhere with them. Too damn bad, oh future brother-in-law of mine.  
  
Jhondie hugged Kayla. "And if you even think about telling Mom you know what to get back at me, I am so kicking your ass later," she said firmly. Kayla finally smiled.  
  
"You'll have to come back to do that," she said hopefully.  
  
"You better believe it," Jhondie said. "See you later, kiddo." She grabbed the bag that she had dropped earlier and then the three of us were out the door. 


	3. Goodbye

Jhondie  
  
"You're saying your good-byes in the garage," Zack growled as the three of us walked down the hall.  
  
I snorted. "The problem with kicking someone out of the loop," I retorted, "is that you have no idea what they've been up to either." He gave me a withering look and even after everything, I almost changed my mind. "I'm good, but I can't do a sectional from the back of a motorcycle. Justin can drive to where we have to go and then we're on our own from there."  
  
Zack wasn't happy. My gaze hardened. "You're the one that walked on me," I reminded him. "So don't complain now that you don't have a clue what I'm talking about. For once, trust me. This is a subject I've thought long and hard about. I know what I'm doing and my way out of LA is going to be a hell of a lot better than any plan you can come up with."  
  
I spun on my heel and continued down to the garage where Justin's car was. He always had a flight bag in the trunk and it had the sectional charts and flight computers and the like that I would need. There was also the fact that the numbers on the plane tended to change occasionally depending on the anonymity needed and the needed information to pull all of that off was also in the bag. We had both learned a lot over the summer from trying to figure out the radio lingo to figuring how to quite literally keep the FAA off of our tail.  
  
I started to work the second we got into the car. It usually took a good hour to plot out a long trip like this and that was when you were spread over a desk with everything you needed right there. There were a lot of calculations to make so that you would end up where you wanted to go. I think Zack started to pick up a clue when he saw me pull out a sectional chart, sort of a map for the air, and start plotting out the lines. He didn't comment though. Not that he would. I didn't realize it then, but even though he didn't know how I was using the sectional, he knew what it was. And it started to make him get some ideas. Odd how everything would have been so different in our lives had I simply decided to climb on his motorcycle behind him and tear off towards the horizon.  
  
I was mostly done by the time that we got to the airport. I was lucky that I could do most of the calculations in my head. It annoyed the heck out of Justin. We got out of the car and opened up the hanger doors. For a second, I almost thought I saw Zack smile when he saw the beauty that was sitting inside.  
  
The plane had been designed for speed and maneuverability. It only sat four people and had enough luggage room for about one good-sized suitcase for each of them, but it was still a twin engine. She could hit 200 knots without breathing hard and still have plenty left to give. It had been hard to go from the single engine, fixed gear that we started with to this plane. There were a couple of times that my instructor almost started praying or something as I practiced the maneuvers but I got the hang of it. And now, as much as I wasn't really thrilled about the flying when we started, I had to admit that I now loved it.  
  
With efficiency born of great practice, we attached the tow bar, pushing the plane out of the hanger and starting the preflight. I had no doubt that Zack was not happy about the delay, but you never skip a step on a preflight. There's a reason that those steps are in place and the one thing about flying is that it quickly weeds out those who are too stupid to understand the concept of following directions.  
  
Still, Justin and I were used to teaming on the pre-flights and we had it done in a matter of a few minutes. Now all I had to do was jump in, do the internal checks, do the run up and then I would be in the air. Oh God. In ten minutes I was going to be in the air. And as much as I had been convincing myself this whole time that it was going to be over in a matter of a few days, all of a sudden, I didn't know. This could take more than days. What if it was weeks? What if Zack got me in a new city and it was months before I heard anything again?  
  
Justin came around the side of the plane as I finished the final checkmark, making sure the baggage compartment was locked. We both paused for a second, for the first time silence being awkward between us. Oh my God. I was supposed to leave him? Our eyes met. "I can't do this," I whispered, trying to fight the tears that threatened.  
  
Justin's arms were around me in a second. "You're going to anyways," he murmured. "You're so strong. I know you can do this. And if it takes a day or a month or a year or ten years, I'll be waiting for you. You know that right? I will never let you go. You are mine. No matter where you go or what happens, we belong to each other and nothing changes that." His fingers lightly touched the small bulge under my shirt where my engagement ring hung on its chain.  
  
I didn't care that Zack had come around the front and was watching us. Screw Zack. He really needed to find someone and fall in love with her so that he would understand for once in his life. "I love you," I said firmly, leaning up for a long kiss.  
  
"Be careful," Justin said when we finally separated. "I love you so much. You keep yourself safe and get back to me."  
  
I nodded, knowing that if I said another word, I was going to burst into tears. I took a deep breath and glanced over at Zack. "I'm ready," I said gruffly. "Get in and we'll get moving."  
  
Zack was looking...thoughtful. "You're going alone," he said firmly. My jaw hit the ground.  
  
"When did it become safe for you to stay but not me?" I demanded.  
  
Zack walked up to me deliberately, his eyes boring into mine coldly. "I'm dead. I died in a helicopter accident a few months ago, remember? You will leave. Now."  
  
Justin glanced at me and then Zack and back again. "You two work this out," he muttered and left Zack and I alone. I think he thought I was going to try and strangle Zack and he didn't want to get in my way.  
  
I crossed my arms, trying to be defiant. I knew I should go. But Zack wanted to stay. That didn't sit right with me at all. Instead of giving me an explanation, he handed me a piece of paper. It had a single number on it. "The new contact number," he explained. "You haven't been moved around a lot, so I'll keep it simple. If we don't need to travel together, then it's better that we don't."  
  
"But the Reds..." I protested.  
  
"Don't know that I am alive," he finished. "Being dead is liberating. You don't have that luxury. I want you out of here now, and when you get settled, contact me and I'll make sure you're good for now."  
  
My lips tightened. I wasn't leaving forever. As soon as I could come back, I was. And thing something else hit me. "Okay," I said. "I'm going to leave. I'm going to trust you totally blind on this one. But let me tell you this, if this is some ploy to get me away from Justin, then it's not going to work. And while I'm gone, if something happens to him, some unfortunate little accident, then I'll make Manticore look like a sweet dream all over you."  
  
He gave me that cold arrogant look that always made me want to smack him. "You need to go." He turned on his heel.  
  
"Zack!" He stopped and glanced over at his shoulder.  
  
I had a really angry retort all lined up, expecting to yell it at his back. But the jerk stopped. I couldn't yell at him angrily then. "Be careful, yourself," I said simply. "Trust me, this city's pretty mean to outsiders."  
  
The corner of his mouth lifted in what might have been a half-smile. "I promise not to hurt him too bad," he said and all I could do was gape. Zack actually teased me. I felt faint. And then he turned again and was gone.  
  
I got in the plane and ran through the start up. Justin and Zack were standing by the car watching me as I began to taxi out onto the runway. Justin blew me a kiss and I waved back and then they were to my rear. As I took off, I turned left so that I could get one last glimpse of the two of them and then I set an easterly course and was heading off into the clear blue sky.  
  
Justin  
  
"Slick," I said casually as Zack and I watched Jhondie taxi out onto the runway and take off. "But you know if she wasn't so upset she would have seen right through that 'I travel separately' crap."  
  
Zack looked at me sharply. I smirked. "If I was going to tell her, then I would have done it before she left. But we both know that if she knew you were going to poke around LA to find out more about the Red Disposables, then there is no way in hell she would have left. And since you're dead and I'm just a regular guy, then that's not going to attract attention."  
  
Zack glared. "I'm leaving as soon as I get my bike," he said sharply.  
  
I snorted. "Yeah right. There's no way you haven't been wracking your brain trying to figure out how this group manages to track down not one, but two X-5's in this short of time. Manticore has been searching for ten years and the only reason they got one of you was by default."  
  
"It's not hard to figure out," Zack replied stonily. "The Reds found the two most careless X-5's."  
  
"If you haven't noticed, this city is huge," I said quietly. "Unless you already have a network of contacts, then there's no way you're going to find those guys and then find out what they know and how they know it. You're going to need help on this."  
  
"I am or you will?"  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
Zack shook his head. "It doesn't matter to me. But they'll kill an outsider in a minute."  
  
His concern for my well-being was *so* touching. If I dropped dead, he wouldn't mind at all. It was just what Jhondie would do to him that was of concern. Then it hit me. "What if I wasn't an outsider?"  
  
Zack looked at me, curious despite himself. The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. "A temporary tattoo on the back of my neck would make them think I was one of you. And that's on the very off chance that I was even spotted. Hell, it might make them a little more cautious approaching me and give me time to scram."  
  
Zack thought about it. "If they see you, then they'll know for sure that you can lead them to another X-5. They'll never back off because they're worse than Manticore. They're desperate."  
  
I shrugged. "Then I'll go blonde or something like that for the duration if need be. Something to look different at any rate. I told you a long time ago that I would do anything to help you guys out."  
  
He nodded and then got back into the car. Something seemed kind of odd and it wasn't until much later that it hit me what it was. Zack knew all about my work for Eyes Only. But for as cautious as Zack was and careful about who knows what, there wasn't a single warning about mentioning the Reds to the boss. Not a hint of a threat. That should have clued me in then, but the mind was still focused on Jhondie and what contact I should go to first.  
  
Funny how every now and then, life really throws some curve balls. 


	4. Search

Justin  
  
Deciding who to talk to was actually pretty easy. Instead of going back to my apartment, we drove to a junkyard, winding through the rows of old cars and appliances and God only knows what else. Kat swore that once she found a pair of solid silver candelabras in one of the cars. I didn't know about that for sure, but I did know that there was a lot of stuff around there, so who knows.  
  
We passed a row of cars that officially began Kat and Scott's place. Those were the cars that would at least start. They were decoys. If someone came in to steal something, they would grab one of those and not notice the closest line of cars that were in process of being restored. I was actually thinking about commissioning one because once those two decided to go back to dealing in car restorations instead of drugs, they were actually quite phenomenal.  
  
Kat was walking out of their little shack connected to the garage when I pulled up. And that was another thing I didn't get with them. They were making good money now, but still living in this one room hovel. I had asked Kat about it and she gave me a look like I was crazy and started cataloging what they had done to the place. It now had paneling on the walls (hoods from cars) and an oven (I didn't want to know) and a bathroom with a tub that you could, and I quote, fit three people and a midget with a camera in. I stopped asking at that point and said I liked the color of her new car.  
  
Kat stopped as I pulled up and got out of the car. Her hands were on her hips and she gave me her flirty little smile. She had changed a lot since that night at the airport. Talk about getting scared straight. Well, not totally straight. She still had an open invitation towards Jhondie, she just wasn't actively pursuing anymore. She had become rather useful in another way though that neither of us was expecting.  
  
The girl had a lot of underground sources. She went to a lot of parties and listened. For some reason Kat was one of those rare persons that people just loved to tell all sorts of things to. I didn't get why. Tongue-studs and trustworthy don't always go together, but the point is, in Kat's circles, if someone needed to get something off of their chest, they loved to tell her. And now that she decided a life a crime was not the way she wanted to go and she still liked a thrill, being one of my secret informants worked for her. She didn't know about Eyes Only, but she knew that she had been an unnamed source in two of my articles. She had then framed on the wall above her bed now.  
  
"Hey, I said I was up for a little group action with you and your girl, not your gym-buds," she greeted. Zack was still in the car, staring straight forward. "But damn, boy does look like he could use a little lovin'," she commented. "Tell you what. You work the bumpers and he can handle the chassis."  
  
I laughed. "And leave Scott complaining that you're not helping?"  
  
She raised her hands. "Hey, I'm all into making the world a better place now." She winked. "So what's up? You finally getting serious about a specialty vehicle?"  
  
"More interested in finding out if you've heard of any new players in town," I said.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Men! Talk about having a one-track mind. I'm offering the best booty in town and you're all save the world."  
  
"Kat!"  
  
She grinned. "Lot's a new players all the time. Got some details? Genital size maybe?"  
  
I groaned. Yes, it was always like this to get anything out of her. "They're a group from South Africa. Going to have marks on the back of their necks."  
  
"Marks?" she asked suspiciously. She glanced over her shoulder towards the garage. "What kind of marks?"  
  
"Small metal circles," I answered, wondering what had her hackles up. Oh well. Figure that one out later. It was hard to tell anything with Kat.  
  
She visibly relaxed. "Blonde hotties in trench coats with accents?"  
  
"Could be."  
  
"Met up with Rachel the other night at this rave," she began and I almost stopped her. That name typically led to a mention of something sexual and I just didn't need to hear that. Even though Kat said they were 'just friends' now, it was still TMI. "And she pointed out these two guys that were totally new. They didn't have that party look, you know? Rach thought they were gay and in the wrong place but I was thinking they had that prowling look, you know?"  
  
"They knew exactly what they wanted and were waiting for it to walk by?" I supplied.  
  
She nodded. "Topped off with the cheesy bad-spy leather trench coats too. I told Rach that they were probably serial killers and not to let her new girlfriend go anywhere near them." Kat's eyes widened. "Is that it? Killers with high-connections? Assassins?"  
  
I shook my head. "Not that I know of. Any word on where I could find them?"  
  
She pursed her lips, thinking. "Ray was at this shoot the night before and he said he had seen those guys hanging around near there. Black vans, that kind of thing. He thought maybe they were invading on the payoff, but no equipment and they were kind of spooky, so he dropped it," she said and then gave me the address of the movie shoot. Ray had recently graduated from actor to director of amateur pornographic movies, or so Kat had explained before. Anyways, they liked to use abandoned warehouses and the like because it was a lot cheaper than studios who might also insist on checking the ID's of the actors rather than just believing that they were 18. All you had to do was pay off the cops, and they wouldn't be anywhere in that area for the two days it took to film.  
  
"Have I mentioned lately that you have become one the most valuable resources a journalist could have?"  
  
She grinned. "Everyone needs a bad girl behind them. Care to finish our little get-together with a good romp around the junkyard? I'll make it worth your while."  
  
I laughed. "No thank you. If anything pans out with these guys, I'll make sure you get a copy of the article." Not that there would be an article on them, but if I didn't mention it then Kat would be quite suspicious.  
  
"Room on the wall for plenty more," she commented and then looked back over at Zack. "You sure he's not plastic or something, 'cause I don't think he blinked the whole time you were out here. Trust me, fifteen minutes and his whole outlook on life would change."  
  
I had no doubts about that. And honestly, Zack probably really could have used getting laid. Other than Dink, I didn't know of anyone else that needed a woman more. Still, I had to answer, "The problem is, I need him in one piece and I think you might break him." She beamed. "Thanks Kat."  
  
"No sweat. And pick out a car soon, okay?"  
  
"I will," I promised, and she turned with a little wave, heading back to the garage, her hips swaying with deliberate exaggeration.  
  
I got back in the car and pulled out of the lot as Scott came out to get Kat's attention back on the cars they were working on. I gave him a little wave, but there wasn't time to stop and chat. "Got a lead," I said to Zack.  
  
"And now she's full of questions on why you want this information."  
  
"Don't even think about it," I said sharply. He was not going to take out Kat later to prevent a leak. "Kat knows she's a source. She's answered a lot of questions for me and doesn't know why I was interested. That's what a source does. If it pans out and her information is published in an article, then she frames and keeps it. If not, she doesn't ask questions."  
  
"Where does she think they are?" It was really annoying to me how Zack wouldn't even acknowledge anything I had to say that wasn't directly related to what he wanted to hear. And I refuse to acknowledge Jhondie's comments that is simply a male trait and has nothing to do with Zack's personality quirks.  
  
"A couple of guys that fit the bill were seen around some warehouses a way out from here," I said. Before I could say anything else, my cell rang. I really needed to get in the habit of screening calls. I picked it up and before I could say anything, Jhondie's mother exploded on me.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?" she shouted. I winced, almost dropping the phone from the volume. It was six inches away from my ear and I could still hear her loud and clear. Even Zack looked like he wasn't about to say a word to stop that rampage. "My youngest isn't home when I get home, so I call Jhondie and her cell is turned off," Ashley continued, still in a rage. "So I call your place and guess who tells me that you just send Jhondie off for no real reason?"  
  
"Ashley, there's actually..." I tried to get out.  
  
"There is *nothing*," she spat out. "If that...that monster isn't in Los Angeles, then there is no reason for her to have left with Zack."  
  
I thought about telling her that Zack was with me, but decided against it. I had no idea what she would do to me then the next time we saw each other. I now really hoped that all of this was just a false alarm and that Jhondie would be home in a couple of days. If not, Ashley did know where I lived and I was going to get hurt severely. "I want her to come back as much as you do," I said quickly.  
  
She laughed coldly. "Justin, I know you may think that. But you have absolutely no idea what it's like to have your child come up missing. When you do, then you can say that. In the meantime, where the hell is my daughter?"  
  
I swallowed. "I don't know," I answered.  
  
Her silence was venomous. "I am waiting." Her tone would have frozen fire.  
  
"I'm telling the truth," I said, feeling all of fifteen. "You think Zack's going to tell me where they were going? I'm checking into what's going on and if it's nothing then she'll be back soon. And if it is something, then it's safer for her to not be here. Of all people, do you think I would let her leave over nothing?"  
  
"Chen-Li called," Ashley said, abruptly switching topics. It was one of her favorite tactics to have someone so confused as to what the conversation was about that you didn't know how to argue the topic anymore. "Jhondie's order is ready. Why don't you pick it up for her since you *will* be able to give it to her soon." And then the connection was mercifully broken.  
  
I hung up my phone. I knew that was going to happen sooner or later, but I would have preferred that confrontation with my future mother-in-law to be much later. "Whatever happens," I said to Zack, "do not let that woman know that you are anywhere within beating distance."  
  
He nodded but stoically refused to comment. I checked my watch. Dr. Lee's shop was on the way to where we were heading. "I'm going to have to make a stop before the warehouse," I said.  
  
Zack flashed me a look and I could see why he was their leader. One look and you were falling all over yourself to explain. "Jhondie's order?" I reminded him. "She's running a little low on Tryptophan and this is her supplier. If...worst case, you can take it to her." Think positive, I told myself. Don't think about Zack carting the stuff to her wherever she is. Think about it being in the medicine cabinet at the apartment where it belongs.  
  
"She's been sick?" Zack finally asked, the question forced. He didn't like it that he honestly had no idea what was going on in her life. And as much as he wanted to sit there scowling, he still cared enough about her to ask.  
  
"Not all that bad," I replied. "A little stressed with pulling heavy class loads so that she could graduate in three years and start med school next fall. And they hit her harder than normal when she's under a lot of stress." I paused. "She finished in the top 2% on the MCAT and was accepted into three schools, but she had already decided she wanted to stay in LA." I didn't mention that it was because her husband was going to be in LA and she wanted to stay with him.  
  
Zack didn't comment on that note, but I had a feeling that he was thinking about Jhondie's life. She had one here. They had risked so much in running away, but they did it in hopes that they might end up with a life like that which Jhondie was leading now. She had a home and people that loved her. Sometimes I thought that Zack was envious of Jhondie. If she had been their leader instead of him, then he would be the one getting ready for medical school. He might even have a fiancée. Not me, hopefully a girl. But seriously, not me.  
  
We stopped by Dr. Lee's and I ran in while Zack, shockingly enough, sat in the car and stared. I saw my dashboard every day. There wasn't anything that thrilling on it. Oh well. Zack's motives were something that was known only to him. I got back in the car and handed him the large bottle.  
  
"What does Jhondie say to him?" he asked suddenly.  
  
I thought about the truth. Yeah, right. "A couple of years ago, we found out who murdered his son and since then he's been rather grateful," I replied. "He doesn't ask questions and doesn't breathe a word to anyone. One of those rare types that you can trust your life to, you know?" Zack shot me a look that said he didn't know what it was like to blindly trust your life to someone. "He's a real doctor and he's bandaged us up a couple of times when going to a hospital would just involve way too many questions."  
  
"If Jhondie wasn't involved in your mess, she wouldn't need his services at all."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "I think Jhondie's racked up three broken nails in all of the work we've done. I'm the one that ends up getting cut on razor wire and needing stitches." Almost true. Jhondie actually did get a nice slice on a piece of metal that she fell into...long story, anyways, it was on the back of her shoulder and there was just no way I could suture it, so it was off to Dr. Lee. He laughed and said it was about time she had a scar to go along with one of mine. Except the little brat's scar went away in a couple of months.  
  
Zack didn't comment, but there was this little twitch, and I would swear he had to choke back a smile of pride. One day he was going to admit that he was proud of Jhondie for being able to do all that she had done and help to make the world a better place. They were meant to be killers and instead Jhondie was using those abilities to save lives. She was careful, despite what he thought. And I know she felt much better about herself by doing what she was. Zack's way of combating what had happened to them was to set himself up as the savior of the X-5's. Jhondie's was working for EO. It was the same church, just a different hymn. I wasn't going to sway Zack right now though. It was time to do some recon.  
  
I knew the area we were looking around. Jhondie and I had done some surveillance there before working on a story. The whole area was going to go down in a heap the next time we had a decent earthquake but in the meantime, it was a rats nest of various bad guys doing what bad guys did best. I knew about the porno films being done there, but most of the people in them wanted the filming to continue because the money was great. One day I was going to get someone to go on record and I would be able to write a whistle-blowing article. But that would have to wait. There were bigger fish in the pond today.  
  
We cruised around a bit, using a trick that worked really well. I had a map that was unfolded all over the dash and it looked like we were lost and trying to figure out where we were. Trust me, it's silly, but it works if someone sees you. After a while, we noticed a black van. This isn't an area where a brand new van just shows up. I parked a little ways away and we went over to one of the other buildings, breaking in and getting up on the roof.  
  
I knew Zack didn't want me along, but he couldn't get rid of me either. We crept to the edge of the roof, staying low and being quiet. And I had to respect the man with that. I knew how much better Jhondie had gotten at covert surveillance. He blew her out of the water. Not a single pebble scraped under his feet. If there were the slightest chance at getting him on board with the boss, I would have been switching partners in a second.  
  
We watched for several minutes and then a man emerged from the building, looking exactly as Kat had described. I leaned forward, observing, and then all of a sudden, Zack's hand shot out and knocked me backwards. I fell onto my back, shocked more at his expression than his action. His pupils were dilated, indicating he was using his telescopic vision and it's hard to describe, but the best way I could define his look was to say he had just disengaged from the surveillance operation. He hadn't moved, but in his mind, he was out of there.  
  
"Fall back," he whispered. I blinked, and went to say something, but he made a sharp gesture that I understood. Keep your damn mouth shut. What the... I took one more peek over the edge, and I thought for a second I saw a black-clad leg disappearing around a vent on top of the warehouse, but it could have just been shadows.  
  
In any case, whatever Zack had seen, it had spooked him to the point where he was out of there. And I had no doubt that he would leave me high and dry if I didn't catch up to him. He was already in my car (I had locked it and he didn't have a key) by the time I got there. I think he was about a second from hotwiring it and taking off. I got in quickly and we started back towards my apartment.  
  
"What the hell was that all about?" I demanded.  
  
"You are to stay away from there," he ordered. "Under no circumstances are you to approach or attempt surveillance. And I will not be around to back you up should you disobey. You're no soldier, but you should be able to understand what's best for you." Jhondie's reports of him turning into Captain Butthead were not exaggerated in the slightest.  
  
I didn't bother to argue and I know it irritated him that I refused to answer. I just drove. After a while, I finally spoke up. "If you don't have other arrangements, you're welcome to stay at my place," I said flatly.  
  
"Not staying in town," he replied. Okay, that was the number one thing to not say to me. He was all gung-ho to find out how they knew where Jhondie was and now he was high-tailing it? It was stupid and arrogant and I should have thought of myself not as a reporter but as a husband first, but I was still very young and firmly believing I was immortal. There was no way I could let this go. Even when we got to my place and Zack didn't even come up, just jumped on his bike and took off, I knew without a doubt that I had another date with a warehouse. 


	5. Memory Lane

Jhondie  
  
It was strange being back in Las Vegas after so long. There was a lot that had changed since I was twelve, but a lot was still the same. I checked into a hotel using some of the false ID and then just went out into the city, hoping the crowd would distract me into not thinking about the life I had left behind and the people that were there for me in LA.  
  
Las Vegas was a great city to just get lost in the crowd. There were always tons of people out on the streets around the Strip where the casinos never closed and drinks were quite often on the house as long as you kept gambling. Everything was lit up, screaming to look here, over here, give me attention next, no, not there, here, here, here! It was one of those places where nothing was too gaudy or over the top and a girl like me could be anyone.  
  
Which is why it made no sense that I took off from that area as quickly as possible. There were too many people around and I wanted to be alone in my misery. I left Zack a message with a number at the hotel to reach me and then promptly took off. The crowds were bothering me so I ended up wandering further out until I realized how close to my old home I was. It was getting late, but time doesn't matter in Las Vegas. This was one city where a curfew would be laughed at and then someone would find a way to make a bet on it.  
  
It was kind of amazing to me that after all this time; the streets were still familiar to me. I turned down the road I used to live on, walked down a block, and then was staring at the first real home I had ever known. It was blue now. I couldn't help but wonder who was in my old bedroom. Was it a daughter? Maybe it was a sewing room. Were they happy there?  
  
I never realized how much stock we put into a house. It's just a bunch of wood or brick or stone. A little paint and a floor and you have living quarters. But that's where I told someone that I loved them for the first time. My first bowl of ice cream was eaten there. I learned in that house that I liked green apple lotion and chamomile tea was soothing. My Dad was alive and Manticore was a fading nightmare.  
  
I had to walk away quickly or else someone was going to question why some weird chick was crying in front of a house. In a way I wanted to go back to those three years. I had been so innocent, experiencing the entire world for the first time. All the horrors that had been so recent were soothed by the loving care that my new parents had given to me. They told me how I was going to grow up and be smart and beautiful and would be able to do anything and be free of all the bad things. And one day I would find a wonderful, handsome man that I would fall in love with and we would get married and have kids and happily ever after.  
  
I did grow up. Not here, but I was definitely an adult now. I was smart. And pretty I suppose. I wanted to be a doctor and medical school was waiting for me to get my degree and come over. And I did meet the most wonderful, handsome, charming; sweetly irritating man I could have ever hoped for. He had asked me to marry him. I had the proof of that on a chain around my neck and his promise that he would wait forever in my heart.  
  
I didn't realize where I was going until I got there. I was at the park where I first met Kayla and Mom. It was almost exactly the same. Some of the things were painted different colors and I was sure the swings and such had been replaced a few times, but it was close enough in the dark. I went inside and sat down on a swing, remembering the day we met and what it was like to be taken in so easily. I bet Zack would have thought it was a trap, but by that point I didn't care anymore. And then after a while, I didn't think about being different anymore. When I took Kayla here to play, I didn't even think about what it had been like to be in this park, homeless and scared and hungry.  
  
I wished in a way I had shed my old name and let Mom and Dad pick a name for me just as they would have had I been born to them. It was the only thing left from my old life, despite me playing with the spelling. Zack and Eva were the only ones to have been given names although they didn't accept the ones Manticore gave along with the barcode numbers. They were the oldest and had been nicknamed Adam and Eve. The furthest from a name starting with A was Z, so Adam became Zack. Eva didn't understand why it bothered Zack so much, but she allowed herself to go from Eve to Eva just to keep from upsetting him every time he said it.  
  
Oddly enough, I picked my name up from one of the lab workers at Manticore. I never even knew his first name. His tag just said "Jons, D." He was really nice to me and once when I was getting blood drawn mentioned that I reminded him a lot of his little sister before giving me the first piece of candy I had ever eaten in my life. He was the first spark that there was something else out there. To my child's mind I understood that here was bitter but candy was sweet. Jons, D. You gave me something besides candy. You smiled and laughed when everyone else was solemn and I wondered what was beyond those fences that could make a person smile. I wanted to be like you. Jons, D. ran together to produce the name Jondy and then after the escape I played with the spelling to become Jhondie.  
  
"Alright," a voice spoke up behind me, making me jump about a mile, "I know, it's perfectly legal, but come on, little kids play here, so just meet him outside the gate and conduct business somewhere else, okay?"  
  
I was on my feet; about half a second from springing on the guy until I realized that he was a cop. I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even hear him coming up from the gate. He was looking at me with annoyed patience. I know, an oxymoron, but if you've ever dealt with cops, you know what I mean. They're trying to be nice, but they have seen this a million times.  
  
"Since when has this not been a public park?" I shot back, emphasizing public. I know, I shouldn't have been antagonizing the cops, but he was breaking into my reverie.  
  
"It is a public park," he replied calmly, "And yes, prostitution is very legal here in the city now, but I know the kids in this area and none of them need to find used condoms in the bushes."  
  
If he couldn't see the disgust on my face, then he must have been blind. I gave him my best LA attitude. "If you're aiming for a freebie, then keep on walking," I snapped. "Unless sitting on a swing is illegal, then I have no business with you." I plopped back into the swing with my back to the cop.  
  
"If I have to find something to take you in on, then trust me, I will," he said calmly.  
  
I laughed coldly, leaning back so that I was looking at him again. "Oh, going to plant a little something on me? My fiancée is an investigative journalist. He just *loves* to look into police corruption."  
  
He snorted. "All right, get up," he ordered. "Let's see if you're the first hooker that I have never found anything illegal on. And I've never planted anything."  
  
I stood and realized that if he saw my barcode, then I wasn't going to have much of a choice than to kill him. Brutal, I know, but there were too many people hot on me to let anything slip by. "I am not a hooker," I said icily. "Is it too much for you to even contemplate that I might have grown up near here and since I'm back in town for a day wanted to come by a few old haunts?"  
  
The cop smirked as he came around. "You did, huh? What's your name? I used to live around here too, and you don't look like anyone I remember."  
  
I glanced at his badge and saw the last name. Clarke. I crossed my arms and really looked at him for the first time. The face was a man's now, but the attitude hadn't changed much. "You have a younger sister named Wendy, don't you? She was, what, three or four years younger?"  
  
He froze. "Four."  
  
I smiled slightly. "She was my age. And for as much as I was over there, I can't believe you don't remember me at all." I decided to let him off of the hook. "Jhondie Harris."  
  
He looked absolutely stunned and looked me up and down. "You certainly grew up."  
  
"And you're still a total jerk, Doug," I grinned. That got a laugh out of him.  
  
"You try being a cop and chasing hookers out of this place every night," he shot back much more good-natured. "You'd be a professional jerk too."  
  
I smiled and sat back down on the swing and he sat in the one next to me. "So how's Wendy doing?" I asked. "Didn't really keep in touch with anyone after I moved to LA." That was intentional. I didn't want people to be questioned and things forwarded on.  
  
"She's dead," Doug answered. My jaw landed on the dirt under the swings. He gave me a pained smile. "She was in a car accident a couple of years ago. Her and a few friends went out drinking and hit a pole at about seventy miles an hour."  
  
"I...I had no idea," I stammered. "I'm really sorry to hear that." I couldn't imagine Wendy as a drunken party girl. I still saw her as the little girl that I had played with.  
  
"It's okay. With the way she had been going, I knew it was more a matter of when than if," Doug said and then changed the subject. "You're looking really good though. And do you really have a fiancée or just trying to be a punk?"  
  
"Really have one," I answered and then realized that I shouldn't give away too many details. "He's at home. I was just here for the day for some business and wanted to take a quick trip down memory lane."  
  
"It was good to see you again," he said softly. "I wonder a lot about the people that used to be in the neighborhood. Looks like you turned out pretty well."  
  
I smiled. "You might be right about that."  
  
Doug couldn't stay long and honestly, after we talked, I didn't want to stay long either. I went back to my hotel and aimlessly flipped through channels, thinking more about Doug than what was on TV. Of all the people to run into, he was the last person I was expecting. I shouldn't have come here, I thought. If I was trying to make a break from my life, then this was the last place I should have gone.  
  
The phone rang and I almost killed myself trying to get to it. I knew there was no way that it would be Justin, but still, if there was anyone in the world that would know how to find me it would be...Zack. It was Zack.  
  
"I received your message," he greeted. "Are you settled or stopping over?"  
  
My heart sank. I was hoping to hear something more along the lines that it was a false alarm and I could come home. Like I would from Zack though. "I'll be leaving tomorrow I think," I answered. "Not good to stay here of all places." I knew better than to give names.  
  
"Good," Zack replied. He paused. "The situation might be worse than I originally thought. I'll meet with you when you get settled and give you a briefing." I had the weirdest feeling that he was treating me as a second in command. And then it hit me that maybe he wanted one. That he was realizing that he needed help in keeping us all in line. That thought both made me happy he was willing to trust me, and pissed me off that he was using this to keep me playing the soldier games for as long as possible.  
  
"Is everything okay there?" I asked, unable to keep the eagerness for any news out of my voice. I figured he was going to wait in LA for the rest of the day and give me time and then take off.  
  
He gave me a grunt that said 'I can't believe you asked me that'. "You need to get used to this," he chastised.  
  
Yeah right. If I got an all-clear sign from Justin, I was back. This was not going to be permanent. But I did have to face reality that it actually might be. "I know," I said. "But it's just hard. I know, suck it up and deal with it, but Mom's got to be pacing and worried right now and I can't call her."  
  
I could tell he was relieved that I wasn't trying to weasel a sanctioned call in there. "It's not easy," Zack finally said gently. We never talked on the phone much and I think that maybe since he didn't have to face me, it was easier for him to express himself. Especially since he couldn't say it all with a glare. "It's never going to be easy to leave people that you care about. But you have to ask yourself what the right thing is. If you'd rather see the people you care about in danger because of you, then do whatever."  
  
"If I didn't care," I said, "then I would still be there. But as much as they're worried, what am I supposed to do?" I paused. That felt like such a lie. "Do you ever wish you could have a normal life? I certainly do."  
  
"It doesn't matter what we wish for," Zack said sadly. "It's what's for the best."  
  
"Zack..." He knew I needed to hear something real.  
  
"Sometimes. You're lucky, you know? Maybe we're never going to be meant to have something permanent, but at least you got to know what real felt like. Call me when you get settled."  
  
I almost started crying. Not for me, but for him. "I will," I promised, and then the line went dead. I pitied him. Every now and then I would get a real glance into his soul and there was this amazing person that was begging to be let out, if only it was safe. I wished he could find someone that he thought it would be safe to really care for. He would be so worried all of the time though because she wouldn't know what to do if a TAC team kicked down the front door. So he hid himself away and carried all of the hurt and anger around and never found anything to help him balance it. We weren't supposed to be so alone in this world.  
  
I couldn't help but lie on the bed and think about being alone. I didn't want to be like that. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life hiding and terrified. I wanted to be real. I wanted to go home, marry Justin, go to medical school and live. So why was I in Las Vegas? Because there was danger? We were talking about Los Angeles! That place wasn't safe for anyone, genetically engineered or not. So why was I here, and not there?  
  
Because I was being stupid, that's why. I was scared. Fine. Being scared is a natural reaction. But I could live my life being scared every time something might happen and hiding for the rest of my life or I could face my fears. I had taken off without even finding out the first bit of information. And for all the time I had worked for Eyes Only, I should know better than to do something like that now. How stupid could I be?  
  
I sat up, my resolve firm. I might be walking headlong into getting killed, but I wasn't going to hide under a rock and wait for someone to tell me it was okay for the rest of my life. I had promised Justin that I would get what was needed here and then I was going home. Zack could be pissed all he wanted, but I didn't care. There was a line from an awesome movie that I had heard, but never really fully understood before. Now I did. I could get busy living or I could get busy dying. If I pointed that plane east tomorrow, then I knew what choice I would be making.  
  
I got up. I could get what was needed tonight and then leave tomorrow. And no matter what, it was time to get busy living. 


	6. Into the Black

Justin  
  
I've seen a lot of scary movies in my time. And they all had one thing in common. At some point some girl would start walking down the darkened hallway/out of the cabin in the woods/ into the attic and the whole audience would be yelling at her that she's an idiot. They would never do something so stupid! And then when the bad guy chopped her up with a chainsaw (if she was the heroine's best friend) or chased her through three cornfields into an electric plant where he was fried (if she had top billing and there was a good chance for a sequel, but her friend still got chopped up right at the end) then everyone in the audience would be yelling that they knew it was going to happen. She got what she deserved for being so stupid. They would never do that.  
  
Little tip in life. In that situation, you'd do it to.  
  
I had a lot of time to think later, and I decided that if what happened was a horror movie, then the audience would have been screaming at me that I was an idiot and look out. And since Zack was technically the hero after all was said and done, I was expendable. The chainsaw was already getting revved up. All I had to do was walk right into it. So I did.  
  
I decided to believe that Zack had just tried some sort of scare tactic on me. I didn't know why and I didn't care either. The point was that I needed to know more about these guys and why they were around. Nobody had made a move on Ashley or Kayla or me for that matter and if these guys were as desperate as Zack said they were, then if they knew specifically who the X-5 in this city was, then it wouldn't make sense for them to sit there perfectly inert. They would have gone after one of us by now. The fact they didn't said they were trolling.  
  
I just wanted to know why they were in LA. What made them suspect that there was an X-5 in the city? Maybe it was because I had spent five minutes with Zack, but I had to wonder if maybe it had something to do with Eyes Only. I had been very careful to make sure that neither Jhondie nor I was ever in any video evidence, but who knows. What if...what if Eyes Only was part of it all in some way? It was paranoid and remote to the point of ridiculous, but where Jhondie's safety was concerned, I was going to be extra suspicious.  
  
I should have kept up with that theory for myself as well. Granted, it all worked out for the best, and life would have ended up drastically different had I not been stupid, convinced I was immortal, but there might have been another way around things that wouldn't have ended up with me in the situation that occurred.  
  
It was late when I went back to do some more surveillance. I figured that if these guys were enough to put the fear of God into Zack, I was going to have to be extra careful. No little ploys to get close to them and make contact. They probably weren't going to be very friendly to anyone even walking around there. The plan was to watch until I had a clear shot to plant some listening devices. Get in, get them planted, find out what they know and then go from there. I knew Zack said not to mess with them, but Zack said a lot of things. I just didn't know then that most of what he said was actually very good advice in a survivalist sense.  
  
I moved into position late that night, everything planned out pretty well. If they thought I was X-5, they weren't going to kill me and I would have the few minutes I needed to get out of the way. I was back on the building where Zack and I had been earlier. It might have been best to wait a day or two, but the sooner I knew, the sooner Jhondie was going to get to come home. That was my primary concern. It shouldn't have been. I learned a painful lesson. There was a huge difference between a journalistic investigation and a military operation. I didn't have to know that when Jhondie and I were together. It would have been a good thing to know when we were apart though.  
  
I knew that surveillance was mostly just sitting and trust me, that gets painfully boring. From the window of the top floor of an abandoned building down from the target, I had a good vantage point. The Red Disposables were coming and going but not at the rate you would think if they were desperately looking for someone in a city the size of Los Angeles. That was worrisome. What if they weren't desperate because they knew who they were looking for specifically? I didn't see how that was really possible, but anything could happen.  
  
I had some sound amplifiers that worked at a distance. Not very good, but it would let me know when I could get near the place. After several hours, I knew that something was a little odd. It was like they were waiting for something. They had spoken a great deal in their native language and I while I waited, I used an online translator. They were basically saying that they had been assured of delivery. Delivery? Who was being delivered? Jhondie was gone. Not in the city. And unless Zack had gotten bored with being the protector and decided to sell off a few spare X-5's, then there was no way she was being delivered.  
  
I had to get closer and find out more. Jhondie was out of their reach, but these guys obviously were good at tracking down X-5's. And it wouldn't have surprised me to find out that Zack had another one stowed here in the city. Best place to hide someone is right under the nose, right? He had mentioned that the other one had almost been caught because she was careless. He had acted like he was referring to the way he thought Jhondie was careless, but what if he meant careless in who they trusted? I knew Jhondie was out of danger, but I didn't know about the others, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to tell Jhondie that I had backed off and let one of her brothers or sisters get caught by these guys. Wasn't going to happen.  
  
The plans for the building they were in were still on file with the city planners. I pulled them up and started looking for underground entrances. That would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to get up on the roof. My eyes scanned over the plans, trying to find some kind of grate or something close to that. Sometimes I really wished life were like a movie where there was always the convenient place for the hero to slip in and get the goods. Of course he was always done in ninety minutes (or forty-five if it was on TV) plus managed to get the girl and save the entire city. Life is not like a movie. Grate? Nada.  
  
I knew it wasn't the best idea but I was going to have to get closer. I had to know what was going on with this X-5 that was about to be delivered. I didn't think the risk was going to be too much. After all, they didn't know they were being watched. Behind the building ran a narrow alley that I thought I would be able to get into and plant some bugs in the back window. I had the get-up for a homeless person, complete with a half- bottle of some very cheap booze that would double as paint-stripper. It was a tried and true disguise that seems silly and see-through, but you'd be surprised at how often it worked, especially in LA. People tended to turn blind the moment they saw the homeless. A lot of things had been discussed right in front of me, as I lay on a sidewalk in a supposedly drunken stupor.  
  
It just took a few minutes to head into a decent position. At least I thought I was in a decent position. There was just one thing I didn't know until much, much later. They were expecting a visitor. I wasn't the spider. I was, in fact, the little dumba$$ fly. But I didn't know that as I stumbled around the far end of a building two doors down from the target. I looked like a homeless guy. Walked like one. It was too perfect I guess.  
  
And there was one other thing I didn't know. Those guys could be frighteningly quiet when they wanted to be. Maybe if I didn't have the earphones in it wouldn't have been so evident. Or maybe I was just too used to having a transgenic partner that would hear a mouse scampering through the walls. But I was hunched down, getting the listening devices set when a hand grabbed my shoulder and hauled me up.  
  
I'm not a little guy and most of my weight is solid muscle. Fingers clamped around my shoulder and hauled me right off of my feet, flinging me into the wall, knocking the wind out of me. I tried to get a breath, but someone else was suddenly there and a hand around my throat lifted me off of the ground. Men, several of them, mostly blonde, all with that "I am bad-guy" look to them. And I had absolutely no back up in this city.  
  
I tried fighting him, but it was like solid steel around my neck. The fingers around my neck tightened until things started going gray and large red flowers were blooming in my vision. In all of my work for Eyes Only, I never really thought I was going to die. I had been in a lot of dangerous situations, but I always thought I would make it through. For the first time in my life, I knew with absolute surety that I was a dead man.  
  
The guy holding me hauled me off of the wall, still keeping me up in the air. It was everything I could do just to draw enough breath to keep from passing out. Big mistake in retrospect. Someone circled behind me and I heard a laugh.  
  
"See," he said in heavily accented English. "I told you she had help. Just like he suggested she would."  
  
The guy holding me drew back his other hand in a fist. Things went into slow motion. The fist drew back and then charged forward heading straight for my face and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I dimly heard a sharp crack, registered pain lancing through my whole body.  
  
And then for a while, everything was mercifully black.  
  
Jhondie  
  
Ever just have that feeling of bad? Like you know something is wrong, but you can't shake it? That's how I felt the next day as I got the plane ready to go. I thought about calling Justin to let him know I was coming home, but decided against it. He would try to talk me out of it. But I turned my cell on and left it on, hoping he would call me. Something didn't feel right, and I couldn't place it. It was getting highly annoying.  
  
I had gotten the information that Justin had needed for an article. It was basically finding out the forwarding addresses of a few people. Not like they had left them with an employer; girls rarely let their pimps know where they are going, but there are other ways. We were going to have to go to New Orleans to interview the last two that Justin wanted. Not going to complain. Always heard it was a fun place to visit.  
  
So why couldn't I shake this feeling? It was making me hurry through my checklists and that was the one thing I never did. Not if you wanted to land the plane in one piece. Finally I did the one thing I didn't want to do. As soon as I was in level flight, I braved the lecture and called Mom.  
  
She answered on the first ring. Bad sign. That meant she wasn't even looking at the Caller ID. "Jhondie!" she practically sobbed when I said hello. "Where are you?"  
  
I took a deep breath. "Coming home," I said firmly. "I'm sorry I freaked, but...but I really let Zack get to me and I panicked. But I'm going to be landing in about an hour or so."  
  
She didn't speak for a minute and I realized she was crying. Well, if she wanted to make me feel like a total louse, that pretty much did it. "Your sister told me what happened," she said quietly. Oh hell. A Kayla-version of the events couldn't be pretty.  
  
Mom paused and that feeling of bad suddenly got heavier. "I don't normally ask this," she said quietly. "But make that death-trap your in go as fast as it can. You're needed here."  
  
Most of the time I would have thought that she was just making a "mom" kind of statement and saying she wanted me home no matter what. But there was more to it. I knew that. I don't know how, but I did, and that of all things made me forget my flight instructor's many lectures on wasting fuel and I slid the throttle in to max power. The engines snarled into high power as I pointed the plane west and towards home. 


	7. All the News

Jhondie  
  
I was finishing tying down the plane when my phone rang. I answered it, not checking the caller ID. I knew it wasn't Mom. She was on her way to come and pick me up. I had thought about calling Justin, but decided to surprise him instead. And I didn't care if it was Zack. I was going to tell him where I was and he could scream and rant and rave but I was going to deal with this problem head on. I wasn't going to spend my entire life running out on people. That was his choice not mine, and...and the call wasn't Zack.  
  
It was Justin's father. "Jhondie, thank God," he said, "Where are you?"  
  
That little niggling of fear I had felt when I talked to Mom came back a thousand times greater. I suddenly wished I hadn't taken the day to get the stuff Justin needed. I should have come home last night, not this evening. "At the airport," I answered. "Just got back."  
  
Tom paused and I thought I was going to be sick. I knew. I didn't know specifics, but I knew something had happened. That feeling that I had been having all day was choking me. "Where's Justin?" I whispered.  
  
"We're at St. Vincent's Hospital," he answered. "Justin...he was attacked by some gang, I think, I don't know for sure right now. Nobody knows what happened, but I know...I know it must have been because of that...that man he's been working for. You were missing and then yesterday he was and now..."  
  
I made some kind of noise. I think it might have been a squeak. I knew it wasn't a word. Your throat has to be open to more than the size of a pinhole in order to speak. I couldn't talk. I couldn't breathe. That noise was all I could do to express some kind of agony so truly great that I couldn't feel all of it. I thought finding out about Bryn was bad? That was nothing.  
  
"Is he..." I managed to get out.  
  
"They don't think there's brain damage," Tom replied, "but it's bad, Jhondie."  
  
I'm pretty sure he had more to say, but I had already hit the disconnect button on the phone. Everything was taller. No, I was on my knees. My arms crossed over my chest as I rocked, trying to be able to get it together enough to move. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. For once I couldn't hear Lydecker's voice telling me to get up and be a soldier and deal with it. There was this oddest noise in the hanger, a horrific keening wail of indescribable loss. It took me a minute to realize that I was the one making it.  
  
I don't know how long I would have stayed like that but I couldn't breathe enough to keep it up. My mind seemed to be screaming a thousand things at once until finally one thought broke through and held. GO! Get up and go! Run, crawl, anything, just go! I clawed my way to my feet, my legs feeling like rubber.  
  
I started to run. Warp speed, no holding back kind of running. It was a good thing nobody was around. They would have gotten a show unlike anything they could have imagined. I was across the small airport in a matter of seconds, moving into a smooth rhythm that showed every bit of my cat DNA. I wasn't thinking anymore. I had mentally mapped a route to the hospital and that's where I was going.  
  
A car turned a corner in my path and I didn't think. I heard the brakes screeching as they locked, but I wasn't fazed at all as I jumped easily, landing on the hood. I was already moving, going over the top of the car like it was nothing. I was skidding off of the trunk when the door flew open and I realized it was Mom.  
  
She was white and I coldly supposed it was from fear since she had almost run over her daughter, but that wasn't relevant to the situation right then. I know I jumped in the driver's side, shoving her over. Good thing she had taken off her seatbelt to get out and see if I was okay.  
  
"Jhondie!" she started to say, but then was pressed backwards into the seat as I floored the gas pedal. What I would have given for Zack's motorcycle about then. I know I should have been thinking about cops and all that, but I didn't care. I couldn't think, couldn't breathe, all I could do was focus on the road and how to get to the hospital. If a cop saw me, then there was going to be yet another chase on the LA freeway, because stopping was not an option.  
  
"Tom called," I said coldly, my eyes flickering to her face.  
  
"Have they found him yet?" she asked. "I know I should have told you," she added quickly, "but you had enough you were dealing with and he could be just off moping."  
  
She didn't know. He had called me first. Smart man. "He's in the hospital, serious condition," I answered, ignoring her gasp. It could have been to my announcement. More than likely it was because we were approaching a row of cars and I didn't slow down at all, downshifting at the last second, making the turn by a hair. Several horns were honking, but that meant both annoyance and appreciation for such a cool move.  
  
I think Mom wanted to question me further, but I didn't have it in me to answer anything. Was he going to be okay? That's what I wanted to know. And what happened? As much as I hated to consider the possibility, had it been Zack? I was out of the way and it would have been an easy mark. Hatred formed a hot, tight ball in the pit of my stomach. I had told Zack to make sure nothing happened to him. Warned him. He thought I was weak? Good. It would give me the advantage of surprise. He was dead. He might not know it, but the bastard was dead.  
  
I don't think anyone had ever made it though late evening LA traffic in the record time that I did. Why fifteen cops weren't following us, I never knew. I didn't even shut off the engine. As soon as the car was in park, I was out the door, running into the hospital. I already had my cell out, dialed and Tom answered by the time I hit the doors of the hospital. He told me the room number and I sprinted to the stairs. Elevators were too slow and I didn't care who saw what anymore.  
  
I was lucky the stairs were deserted. If they hadn't been, I would be in serious trouble because I flew up them, full speed ahead. I don't think I had ever moved that fast in my life to be honest. It's amazing what fear can make the human (or transgenic) body do. Some small part of my brain that was still thinking made me slow down when I got to the right floor, going to a jog rather than a sprint. But still, had the door to Justin's room been closed, there was still a chance I might have just gone right through it rather than knocking it open with a sharp bang.  
  
I took about three steps into the room and stopped short. All of the adrenaline that had been fueling me disappeared when I saw Justin lying on that bed. The world went a little gray around the edges and I wasn't sure if I should throw up or pass out first. There were bandages everywhere. Casts, bandages, tubes, IV drips. Sure, I had seen people in worse shape before. But not Justin. This was...this was simply unacceptable.  
  
Tom had been sitting beside him and rose when I came in. He looked a little surprised on how fast I had gotten up to the room, and had he asked I might have actually told him. Not the brightest idea, I know, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered. This was my doing. I should have been the one to take this. But I didn't. I had run away and left the person I loved more than anything in the world alone and defenseless.  
  
There was a noise to my right and I finally realized that Tom was talking to me, telling me Justin's injuries and what the doctor had said. The only thing he said that mattered was that Justin was expected to live. I couldn't say the same of whoever had put him in here, but as long as he lived, then they would go quick and not spend at least a month begging to die.  
  
I felt like a ghost, completely unreal as I went to Justin. I could feel tears on my face as I took his hand that wasn't in a cast in mine, but I couldn't make an effort to wipe them away. I wanted to scream. I wanted to wail. All my strength and cunning and abilities were absolutely useless. Even my medical knowledge was of no account. All I could do was sit there and pray.  
  
Justin  
  
Understandably, most of my memories of that time are pretty vague. I remember being in a lot of pain. Pain and then blacking out again. I remember waking up to gunshots, I think. Noises. A crash, maybe, I wasn't clear on what exactly happened for a while. I do remember thinking that they had managed to get Jhondie to come back. They had to have because they kept saying that they had me and their target was going to come.  
  
And then Zack was there and he said that Jhondie was okay. Of anyone in the world, I would believe him when he said that she was in no danger. But there was a girl with him. I would have thought it was a dream, a hallucination made up of wanting to be sure that Jhondie was okay, but it wasn't Jhondie at all. At the time, I thought maybe it had been all in my head because she had carried me and no regular girl could have done that easily. But I did have a distinct memory of blonde hair in my face, bouncing as she ran.  
  
It was a confusing, hazy mess until I finally woke up in the hospital. I couldn't open my eyes all the way, my body was locked into a strange position, something was up my nose and I just in general felt like crap. It took me a minute, but I finally realized that I must be in a hospital, because if this was the afterlife, then I had wasted a hell of a lot of Sundays in church. Going back to sleep for about a week until I felt better seemed like the best plan until I noticed someone at my side. Jhondie was semi-sitting in a chair beside me, her head resting on the mattress. Her head was on one arm, the other hand holding mine.  
  
I gave her hand a squeeze and she looked up sharply. Her green eyes were heavily bloodshot, face swollen and she looked like she had been crying for a week straight. "Justin?" she whispered.  
  
I sighed, wondering if I could talk. My throat was dry and my voice sounded rusty, but the noises were intelligible. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"  
  
She made this noise, somewhere between a sob and a laugh. "Aren't you supposed to not be in a hospital?"  
  
My eyes closed and a few pieces fell back into place. "Jhondie," I said, trying to sound urgent and not weak, "you have to go. Those guys...they were waiting for someone. I think I was bait." I wanted to say more, but it was like speaking alone drained every bit of my strength. God help me if I had to use the bathroom.  
  
She shook her head. "It's been almost three days," she said hesitantly. "If they wanted me, they could have found me. But I'm not leaving ever again." Fresh tears welled up and slid silently down her face.  
  
I squeezed her hand. "Don't cry, baby. It's okay." I would have given anything at that minute to be able to just hold her and comfort her. She wiped her eyes quickly, forcing herself to get back under control.  
  
I wanted to talk more, tell her what I remembered and find out what happened to Zack, but I was falling asleep again. Her lips brushed against my forehead. "I love you," she whispered. I meant to say it back, but I was out again.  
  
When I woke up again, the bright light from the window had faded into the shadows of night. I wasn't too sure, but I think I was feeling more coherent. Jhondie was gone and Dad was sitting there. He smiled when he saw me open my eyes. "Welcome back."  
  
I groaned softly. "I'm more in trouble then when you found out about Trisha McCabe's father's car, aren't I?"  
  
Dad laughed, but it sounded forced. "You don't know how many times I almost went to the police and told them about your other activities. Say what you want about that man, when he hides on a TV and sends my son off to be killed, I do have problems."  
  
I tried to laugh, but it hurt too damn much. "And the irony is, this has nothing to do with that." It didn't take a psychic to know he wasn't buying that. "When someone who knows better tells you that you're way in over your head and to stay out, and you jump in anyways...next time, I'm going to listen."  
  
I knew Dad was thinking of the boss when I was paraphrasing Zack. I hated to have to deceive my father, but I wasn't about to go into Jhondie. If she ever wanted to tell him, then that would be her call, but it wasn't my place. "Where's Jhondie?" I asked.  
  
Now Dad smiled for real. "Ashley finally was able to get her to go home and eat and get some sleep. That girl's been in here for two days straight. Nobody could get her to leave long enough to change clothes, much less eat or sleep. Her mother managed to get her to eat some crackers yesterday, but that's been about it. She wasn't going to leave until you were awake."  
  
I knew I was hurt pretty bad. It didn't take a doctor to tell me that the Demerol in the IV drip was currently my new best friend. But hearing that Jhondie, the girl that normally consumes about twice the amount of food in a day that I do, went two days without eating because she was worried about me, that let me know more than anything how close I came to dying.  
  
"My nose is stuffy," I muttered, not that it had any bearing on the conversation, but keep in mind I was on some heavy-duty pain killers. They tend to keep a person from having a flowing conversation.  
  
Dad shook his head. "Let's just say the doctor's corrected your deviated septum while they were fixing the broken nose," he said. "Your doctor came in a little bit ago while you were sleeping. He said that you're probably going to need surgery again in the next few weeks for some cosmetic work, but other than that, you are one lucky man."  
  
He paused. "What the hell happened?" And then I knew how scared he had been. Jhondie had an idea of what had been going on. Dad was out there in the dark and I wondered how often he heard about a shooting with someone being in the wrong neighborhood and waited for the police to knock on his door and tell him that it was I. It wasn't fair to him, I know, but if I stopped trying, then who would take my place? I know, what can one man do, but someone had to try.  
  
"I was looking into some stuff going on at the warehouses down there," I said. I guess coming up with good lines had started to become instinctive because I had a brilliant idea just then. "Got info about kiddie porn being filmed around there and was looking into it. Jhondie was doing secondary in Las Vegas and I made some bad mistakes and got caught. Stupid, amateur mistakes. That's all. Just got careless and then really unlucky." If there was one thing Dad never lectured me about, it was when I was going after people hurting kids.  
  
This time he wasn't exactly convinced. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this time, it wasn't hearing about me saving some other parent's kid. He had almost lost his own. "When is your life going to mean more?" he asked. "You've got your whole life in front of you. You can do anything you want, you have a beautiful young woman that you can make a family with, what's the point of it all if you're not going to see twenty-five?" he demanded.  
  
We'd had this conversation before and maybe he was hoping this time the drugs I was on would help convince me of the error of my ways. He had no idea how deep my conviction ran on this point. For Eyes Only, I would take calculated risks. For Jhondie, well, if she wasn't there, then I didn't think I would have much interest living in general.  
  
"Dad," I finally said, "if I didn't, then who would? I know you don't think one person can make a difference, but trust me, sometimes one is all you need." I thought for a second. "One time, actually what inspired me to start flying, was when a group of girls were kidnapped and about to be sent overseas as part of a white slavery ring. I semi-crash landed that plane with a dozen girls inside of it because I don't know how I was going to live with myself if I had done nothing and let them go without a fight."  
  
"So you decided you would all live or all die, no other options there, huh?" He sighed. "Son, sometimes you can't win. And you have to ask yourself one thing. Is what I'm going to do to my family worth the lives of strangers? Are you going to do this kind of stuff when it means making Jhondie raise your kids alone?"  
  
"One of the girls was this pretty little blonde named Kayla Harris." It was hard to get my Dad at a total loss, but I tell you, this time I had nailed him from left field. "And no, Ashley doesn't know. It's a long story, but her and Kat got into some trouble and were about to be on their way to Singapore, I think." I could have said more, but silence seemed a lot appropriate. And I was tired again. Thinking was painful. Sleep was good, talk was bad. I was really getting the hang of the whole invalid deal.  
  
There was a long minute of silence. Dad finally blew out a breath. I think he really hated it that whatever was said between us remained between us. That had been the rule for a long time. Usually. There were some notable exceptions, but those weren't important at the moment.  
  
"Would you like to try some water?"  
  
I think I smiled. "Water would be good." 


	8. Hospital Life

A/N: If you want to get the full impact with the scene with Zack, cue up "My Immortal" by Evanescence and listen to that while reading. I had it on replay while writing it. And before some record company tries to sue, it was the CD I had on replay, purchased from Target for $14.95. I think I even have the receipt somewhere.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Justin  
  
For the record, hospital life unequivocally sucks. As the days passed, I discovered that a lot I had read when I was a teenager was an out and out lie. Nurses are not all leggy blondes that moonlight as models. And the ones that offer the sponge baths are nothing that you would want to write a letter to Penthouse about. Doctors are not dashing men that seduce said leggy blonde nurse and then cure the patient by the end of the day. And then there was thing they made me go to called physical therapy. PT can best be described as being put under the supervision of a Nazi war criminal that was in a bad mood.  
  
So that was how my days and then weeks passed. I spent about five weeks in the hospital, slowly healing. The breaks were the worst. My arm was healing pretty well, but my leg had been broken in several places and was pinned together and the broken bones had cut tendons and muscles. The doctors were estimating about three months for that puppy to be mostly healed. And of course, there was more PT after that. The little sadist in sweats had smiled when he heard that news and said we would be able to step up the intensity then.  
  
I had to have surgery again to handle some of the scaring and such. This is when having a lot of money helps out. Plus, if you have to have plastic surgery, LA is the place to be. Even though a lot of the doctors for the beautiful people packed up and moved to Europe after the Pulse, they will still come flying in, no questions asked, to work on someone in LA. Annoying for me ideologically, but I had to admit, the results were worth it. I had a small thin scar on the bridge of my nose that was hard to see with my skin tone, another small one on my cheek and a few assorted on the arms and legs where the pins had gone in. All and all, I had to say I was extremely lucky.  
  
Lucky on other counts too. Nikki and (I almost had a heart attack when I saw him) Dink came up to see me about three days after I was coherent. Both of them looked really uncomfortable being there. I guess they were thinking how close we all were in our work and this could happen to them. Not likely. Neither of them would be investigating a threat to their transgenic fiancée. Well, not likely it would ever happen. Lately, I had left off saying never.  
  
Nikki had closed the door and asked me if we were on camera or off the record. That was interesting. I told her the place was clean as far as I knew. She cleared her throat and looked more nervous than I had ever seen before. "Justin," she said, "I think we can all be honest with each other in that we all skate the law in what we do." Dink was nodding. "What I'm saying is that we know it's technically illegal, but the ends justify the means, right?"  
  
"I grant you my things are for personal gain," Dink spoke up, "but I wouldn't help out people I think are going to use what I give for evil purposes. Even I have some limits." Coming from a hacker like him, that was saying a lot.  
  
"We all hang on the edge, I know that Nik," I replied hesitantly. This was starting to sound like an intervention.  
  
"But we still have to maintain a journalistic integrity," she said. "And that means keeping a distance. I know you. You know what you're getting into. And whatever this story is, it was worth you dying for to get the scoop."  
  
I sighed. "I took Journalism and Ethics my junior year," I replied flatly. "Made an A in it too. You have to stay a step away from the story to maintain objectivity, I know that."  
  
"You hit the edge," Dink said. "How far did you go?"  
  
I wished I could explain. They would understand about Jhondie. Both of them knew I would do anything for her. There was no question of that. But I knew I would never be able to trust Nikki with something like that. I knew why it couldn't be exposed. She didn't. She hadn't lived with it like I had and she would see Manticore coming into the light as a good thing for all. Sure, it was. But it would destroy the X-5's and put them deeper into the ground. It would be the biggest story of someone's career, but never mine or hers.  
  
"I nearly got killed because I stopped," I said. Both of them looked relived. Yeah, I know, that made it sound like I was doing something really overboard, but what else could I say? "I can't answer questions. I don't think any of it will ever see the light of day. But yeah, I know my boundaries a lot better now."  
  
"Good," Nikki said. She glanced at Dink. "I feel a lot better now for what we did."  
  
I blinked. There was no telling with those two. Since I had introduced them, they had gotten rather buddy-buddy. He cut his hair. She got some stuff from him with mere oranges. I would have sworn they were on the verge of a date. All I could do was pray they adopted.  
  
"With what happened to your car, the story I heard from your father and the police records seemed a little sketchy," she said. My car? What? "The cops didn't find it," she continued. "I don't even want to speculate on who you were playing with. Because something major went down, your car looks like it was driven through the side of a building and nobody knows anything, not even the junkyard it mysteriously ended up at."  
  
What did Zack do to my car? "How did you find it?"  
  
"Kat," she answered. "Decided to let me know since it was dumped at her yard."  
  
"It was in the police's database as a missing vehicle since you were also reported missing," Dink said. "All things considering, Nikki figured you probably didn't want to be questioned about it. So I, ah, made a few adjustments."  
  
I relaxed. "I'm guessing I've never owned a vehicle in my life before?"  
  
"Not that I know of." And if Dink didn't know, that meant the state of California and the United States of America was clueless as well. And that suited me quite well.  
  
"Thank you both."  
  
Nikki grinned. "If there ever comes a day when you can give a full accounting, then I want to be the first to hear it."  
  
I smiled. "You got yourself a deal."  
  
Jhondie  
  
My life while Justin was in the hospital revolved around going to my classes and then right to the hospital. I did homework while he was in physical therapy. I went with him the first few times, but eventually I had to leave because I knew I was going to kill the therapist if he hurt him one more time. All for the good, I knew, but it was the point. He did appreciate it when I sent Melba away and gave him a sponge bath myself. He muttered something that this was more like it and refused to say more. I chalked it up to the painkillers he was on.  
  
I had missed about a week and a half of classes, not even thinking about school. I actually had no intention of going back until Justin was out of the hospital, but he finally swore to me enough he wouldn't die or disappear while I was gone for a few hours. And he reminded me that our wedding was supposed to be between my graduation and starting med school and it was going to be hard if I was a semester behind. Jerk. I hated how he could talk me into anything. My mom had called my professors and told them that a gang had attacked my fiancée and that was the emergency that called me away. They were pretty sympathetic and I was able to make up everything I had missed  
  
I had gotten a single message from Zack. He just said, "Situation neutralized," and hung up on my voice mail. Good thing for him. There was a lot I wanted to say to him and most of it was going to be quite unpleasant. Justin had told me that Zack had told him to back out of the situation and he didn't and that's why he got caught, but that wasn't the point. Zack should have known Justin wouldn't back down if I were involved. Again, the next time we saw each other, it wasn't going to be pleasant.  
  
That's what I thought at least. Until he actually showed up. I had just gotten to the hospital as usual. The routine was that we would just talk, or I would bring him something he needed to work on (it was light work, I knew he needed to rest but he needed something to keep from going stir crazy) and then he would be in PT while I did my homework in the room. Then dinner together and I would stay there until a nurse threatened to beat me if I didn't leave. I had tried to stay at Justin's one night since it was closer, but I couldn't stay there without him. If I lay down, I could smell his scent on the sheets. Everywhere was stamped with his personality, and I couldn't handle being there knowing I wasn't going to be able to see him in there for a while.  
  
Anyways, Justin had been in the hospital about three weeks that day. He was improving pretty well. The internal injuries were mostly healed and the breaks were coming along. He was starting to look like my Justin again and not an invalid patient. And he was starting to act like my Justin too. I came in, leaned over to kiss him and he just grinned and pointedly stared down the top of my shirt. I know I blushed when he whispered a few suggestions in my ear. Well, not that his ideas were impossible...I was limber enough...just had to time it around the nurses' checks...  
  
He kissed me again, this time letting his good hand do a little wandering. Oh yeah, he was definitely on the mend. And that was when a throat was cleared at the door. I jumped, straightening and turning, and there was Zack. I had a speech planned for the next time we saw each other. Trust me, it was a good one. One that would get in there and burn for a long time to come. But the second I saw him, all the harsh words died in my throat.  
  
When he had been in that helicopter accident, that had been the roughest I had ever seen him. This time, he wasn't beat up or cut up, but he looked even worse. He looked like he had just gotten an emotional ass kicking, to put it bluntly. And those were far worse than physical. If you've ever been there, you know what I mean. In a second, I went from pissed as hell to feeling so bad for him that I didn't know what to say.  
  
The plan was to give him a very cold, "you're looking well", but instead all I did was stare for a minute and very quietly say "Hey."  
  
He gave me a curt nod and stepped the rest of the way into the room, closing the door behind him. "Hey," he replied. Wow. A reply from Zack. A greeting at that. Be still my heart.  
  
Zack's eyes swept over Justin. "Dr. Lee said you weren't going to die."  
  
Justin half-smiled. "I thought I remembered you getting me out," he said. "Still fuzzy on the blonde. No idea what you did to my car for that matter."  
  
Zack shrugged. "As usual, what needed to be done." There was a moment of a rather uncomfortable silence.  
  
"I got your message," I finally said. "So, I don't have to worry about the Red Disposables?"  
  
"Like you did before," Zack replied disapprovingly. Before I could say something back, he waved his hand and sat down. Wow. Zack looked tired. And was about to talk. And not wanting to argue over nasty comments. That wave could have been mistaken as an apology. If someone had mentioned alien abduction at that moment, I wouldn't have laughed.  
  
"The Reds weren't here for you," he finally said. "They thought they were being delivered someone else. You being here was just coincidence." He shot Justin a dark look. "You made the Reds think things they wouldn't have if you had listened to orders."  
  
Justin half-laughed. "If you have to ask why I did it, you wouldn't understand the answer."  
  
I was looking at Zack when Justin said that, and something crossed his face for a second, like a shadow of a passing car on the road. There and gone. And I had no idea what was doing this to him.  
  
"The X-5's weren't the only group in danger from the Reds," Zack continued. "All they wanted was a transgenic. When they couldn't get their hands on an X-5, they made a big mistake and went for another and ended up learning that one on one, we're no match, but pretty deadly as a group. Most of the Reds were killed and I doubt they are going to come back for more soon. Even if they did, they don't know where to look for an X-5 and there's nobody to hand over another X-6."  
  
My jaw dropped. A WHAT? "X-6?" I gasped out. "There are rogue X-6?" I remembered Boston, when that general said that all it would take was another '09 to end Manticore. That had happened? Then why was Manticore still around? Or was it? Maybe...  
  
"No," Zack answered. "No rogues."  
  
I blinked. Justin figured it out before me. I'm not that slow usually, but it was just an impossibility I couldn't fathom. "The blonde," Justin said. "The blonde was an X-6? Somehow they knew she was there and were after her."  
  
"Was set up to be there," Zack answered.  
  
I laughed. I couldn't help it. "Oh my God," I got out. "I knew you were willing to do anything to protect us, but allying with a loyal X-6 was the one thing I never even dreamed you would be willing to do."  
  
His eyes met mine and my laughter ceased. I knew what he was saying. As leader, he had to be willing to go to lengths that none of us would be capable of going. That's who he was. And who I was too selfish to be. It was roughly a visual backhand.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Zack was suddenly gone before the door could open. The bathroom door was now slit open rather than all the way. Ha. I was still faster. Justin's physical therapist came in. "Mind if we start a little early today?" he asked cheerfully. "My schedule's a little crowded today with people coming in." Jerk. It was just low to remind Justin that there were people leaving the hospital right now.  
  
Justin glanced at me. I gave him a tiny nod that the therapist missed. "Sure," he said, carefully starting to untangle himself from all of the bedding. It was a slow process with the casts, but we got him out of there and into the waiting wheelchair. I blew him a kiss as the evil one carted him off.  
  
Zack slipped out quietly when the door shut. I knew how much he hated to be trapped in a room. This high up, the window would not be a good option. "There's a terrace a few floors down," I said. "We could go out there and get some air if you want."  
  
He nodded and we left quietly. I had a feeling that none of the nurses had seen Zack and he would like it to be kept that way. We didn't say much until we got outside and went to the low wall surrounding the edge of the terrace. On a clear day you could see all the way to the ocean from here. We couldn't really see the ocean that day, but there was a glimmer through the smog that you could tell yourself was blue sea. For a while we just leaned on the wall, thinking our own thoughts.  
  
I was wondering what was up with Zack. Had he had a near-death experience or something? And what was the deal with that surfer necklace thing? I saw them all the time on surfers with the black nylon cord and that yin- yang medallion. Zack had automatically tucked it back in his shirt when it came out as he leaned over the edge of the wall, but it was the point he was wearing it. Weird and more weird.  
  
Without warning, his hand shot out and caught my left hand. For a second I almost passed out thinking Zack was getting touchy-feely and then I realized he wasn't holding my hand, he was examining it. More to the point, he was looking at my ring. His eyes flicked up and met mine in a demand.  
  
My chin rose defiantly. "Justin proposed to me several months ago," I said. "I accepted. We're planning on getting married this summer before I start med school."  
  
Zack dropped my hand like it was contaminated and turned his gaze back to the skyline. I felt tears starting to build in my eyes. "I know what you're thinking," I said, sniffing back the tears. "Stupid and irresponsible and a whole host of other things, but there's something you're missing in all that." I paused, wishing he would give a signal that he was actually listening. "It's time to heal, Zack. For once and for all, it's time to finally heal."  
  
He was listening. I could tell I struck a nerve by the way his back stiffened. "I'm not talking about not keeping an eye open either. I don't want to go back. And I know what I would do if I got cornered. What I'm talking about is healing. About giving up the nightmares finally."  
  
I wiped the tears that were starting to leak out. Zack still wasn't looking at me, but his head had dropped slightly, eyes closing as he really thought about what I was saying. "They hurt us. There's no doubt about that. But you can't live with open wounds forever. I've tried and all that happens is that they get ripped open again and again and you bleed every time. We're going to be scarred. And that's okay because scars remind you of where you've been and why you don't want to be there again. But you have to let the wounds heal, you know?"  
  
"Some things don't heal," he finally said very softly.  
  
I thought that he was talking about Bryn. "Maybe," I said. "But do you let that poison you forever? When there's nothing left to be done, what else do you do? If there was a way to help Bryn, I'd be the first to volunteer, no matter what, but in the meantime, do I keep ripping off the scab, or go on?"  
  
I sighed. "I can't judge you. I don't know what you've been through and I don't know what's really bothering you right now. If Manticore got another one, you would have told me. So, all I can say is that I have to heal. It's time for me to let go of those forty-two hours and eleven minutes and not let it destroy any chance I have at having a future. I can't look at the future as all smoke and dreams that won't come true. I can't. It's time for me. And as much as you don't want to admit it's true, one day it will be for you too."  
  
If I didn't know better, I would have sworn he was fighting to hold back tears. We both stood there quietly for a while, looking at the city. I glanced at my watch. Justin would be in PT for a while longer. "You're welcome to stay at my house for as long as you want," I finally offered quietly. "You know Mom is cool with that no matter what. Justin's place is empty too, if you want some privacy."  
  
"Thanks," he said absently. "I might do that." He sounded so tired. I wanted to hug him and tell him it would all be okay, but I couldn't. That would have been an invasion of sorts and I didn't want to push him today. Another time and I might have tried to get the answers from him, but some instinct said that whatever was bothering him; he needed to heal from it as well.  
  
Zack picked up my hand again and stared at the ring. His thumb ran over the center diamond. "He'll be good to you," he almost whispered. And I almost fainted right there on the spot. Zack abruptly let go and straightened.  
  
"I'll see you later," he said and as quickly as he had come back, walked away. 


	9. Home At Last

Justin  
  
I consider the day I finally came home as being one of the top ten days of my life. Possibly one of the best days in all of human existence. I was willing to have a holiday declared or something. I was still on crutches, the cast was off my arm, but it was still going to be in a brace for a while, had some scars, bruises and assorted aches and pains along with a strenuous schedule with the physical therapist, but the point was, I was home!  
  
I knew Jhondie had gotten the place ready for me when I gimped through the front door. I had never kept the place that neat. She even dusted. I wasn't worried about something growing in the fridge though. With Jhondie, food never lasts that long. When I left, there had been a pile of clothes by my bedroom door that I had kept swearing I was going to take to the cleaners, but hadn't got around to it. Now it was gone and I was willing to bet they were all washed and folded. Either that or thrown away and new ones purchased. I never knew with Jhondie. She could leap fences, kick the crap out of six guys and break into the most secured places in the world, but, well, to put it kindly, laundry wasn't her forte.  
  
I had a whole entourage with Jhondie, Dad and the twins helping me into the place. I would have given anything just to have one person drive me home and let me chill for a while and just enjoy knowing that at 3 AM nobody was going to wake me up to ask me if I needed a sleeping pill. Yes, that does happen. And yes, it really does suck.  
  
Before we got to my place, I had demanded real food somewhere. Anywhere. I didn't care as long as it didn't come on a plastic tray and Jell-O was not considered a dessert item. We went to this little Italian place that Jhondie and I had found last year. Found, wiretapped and listened into conversations being held there, it's all the same I guess. Point is, they have the best shrimp scampi that has ever been made in the history of scampi. For once, I out-ate Jhondie. It was just great not eating bland, nutritionally balanced hospital food.  
  
Bryan and Brittany were happy to see me up and around. I think the hospital thing had scared them both. I learned later they thought since I had been taken there and they couldn't see me at first, I must have died because that's exactly what happened when Mom was killed. I felt bad enough over how much I had worried everyone, but now I really resolved to be more careful in the future. Dad was right in some ways. Look how much I had traumatized those two and they were just my brother and sister. What would it have been like if they were my son and daughter and Jhondie had to explain to them why I was gone?  
  
I had been thinking about a lot of things, I guess. When you're stuck in a hospital, time is the one thing that you suddenly have in abundance. I thought about the trip we had taken to Mexico last summer and how much Jhondie had been a part of my family there without even trying. The little brats had long since loved her like a big sister. And I was part of Jhondie's family too. Her Mom was a friend with my Dad and we actually did things as a family, with Ashley and Kayla and Dad with Brittany and Bryan. I think I was starting to really grow up and think like an adult instead of a punk kid. It's amazing what almost getting beat to death will do to a person's priorities.  
  
But when I got home, I swear, I had never walked into anywhere with that much fanfare. Brittany, yes my little sister, fluffed a pillow in the chair I was heading for before I could sit down. Bryan was babbling about some of the stuff that he had researched on the Internet to make the apartment, as he put it, "more disabled-friendly during my convalescence". All I wanted to know was how long it had taken him to learn how to pronounce those words much less remember them for a recital.  
  
They all stayed over for a while until I was ready to choke someone. I had tried to get up and Brittany insisted I didn't need to get up for anything and she could do it for me. I asked her how it was physically possible for her to pee for me. Bryan would have blushed. Brittany looked down her nose and threatened to get a bottle. And that was when Dad jumped up and announced it was time to go. Dad has always had the best sense of timing. Brittany tried to protest that Jhondie didn't have to go, but Bryan practically pushed her out the door saying that a girlfriend was more fun to have around than a little sister when you're old. That was one of those comments where you're not sure if you should hug or slap the kid.  
  
When we were finally alone, Jhondie looked at me and said, "She's semi- right. You do look tired. Maybe you should go and lay down and rest for a while." I motioned for her to come over and I know she thought I wanted some help getting to my bedroom. Instead of getting up, I grabbed her by the front of her jeans and pulled her down so that she was straddling me, her legs folding by my thighs.  
  
"First time in over a month we've been alone together with a door that locks," I said with a grin, my free hand pulling her shirt out from her jeans, "and you think I'm in the mood to rest?"  
  
"Justin!" she started to say and then her protest turned into a pleasured sigh. I know guys say that being with a bunch of women is the best, but the cool thing about a long-term relationship is that you really get to know that person and she knows you. You know what the other likes and doesn't like and what means stop and what means stop and I'll kill you. And from the look on Jhondie's face, she was leaning towards the stop and I'll kill you.  
  
"No!" she finally managed to get out, trapping my hand. She took a breath and tried to look stern. With the flush on her cheeks, she only managed to look adorable. "You are far from healed," she said firmly. "You still need to rest and it's been a hard day for you."  
  
I grinned wickedly. "The day isn't the only thing." She blushed harder, knowing exactly what I meant. "And the only way you're going to get me in that bed is to find a way to lure me there." I hooked my finger in the front of her t-shirt and pulled her to me for a kiss.  
  
She might have tried to protest again, but she's the one with the super- hearing, not me, so I didn't hear anything that could be made into words, so it doesn't count. Although, I have to admit, when you have a cast, a recliner isn't the best of ideas. If I have to explain, then you are too young to hear the answer. But anyways, by the time I got her topless, she had left off with the protests completely and jumped up off of my lap.  
  
Her skin was flushed, chest rising and falling rapidly with the increase in her breathing. And oh God, I don't think a man had ever wanted a woman more when she just smiled at me. "You coming or do I have to carry you off?"  
  
I grinned. Technically, yes, she could do it very easily, however, the differences in our height made it awkward for her to balance properly while walking. Don't ask how I knew that. Just accept it and move on. I grabbed my crutches and awkwardly got to my feet. "You better use that super speed and get in there now," I said, nodding towards my bedroom.  
  
She laughed and then it was like she vanished. The woman was determined to drive me crazy. I knew that for sure now. And I also knew that I didn't care.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I knew it was night when I woke up later. The night of what day, I couldn't be for sure. Jhondie was wrapped around me, so I really didn't care about anything much beyond that and where the Tylenol was. Love is grand and all that, but after hours of excess when you have a cast, the body will remind you why you shouldn't have done all that. This is when having the ability to pop off the lid of the Extra Strength Tylenol with one hand comes into play. It took me a couple of fumbles, but I managed to get it off of the nightstand, open it up and get a couple out without spilling most of the bottle. I had mastered the technique about my fourth week in the hospital as well as dry swallowing the little pills.  
  
I relaxed back on the bed, wincing slightly when Jhondie wiggled to get comfortable before falling back into sleep again. I loved her. Wanted her to be there. But having additional weight on me wasn't the most comfortable thing at the moment. I wasn't going to complain though and get her to move. I had come so close to never being with her again that I wasn't going to let a little pain keep me from holding her.  
  
She was smiling in her sleep and I couldn't help but smile back. Her nightmares had been fading over the last months and I was grateful for that. Even this recent scare hadn't brought them back like before. And for that I would be forever grateful. I wondered if Zack had realized she was doing better now than before and that explained his little nocturnal visit.  
  
I knew that he had spent the night over at Jhondie's when he showed up at the hospital. Jhondie said he left that day for parts unknown, but she was once again reinstated for the contact number. A couple of nights later I had woken up and there was Zack, sitting in the chair by my bed. I wondered how long he had been there, just watching me. That was a creepy feeling, one that I would prefer to never feel again. Jhondie, Dad, even the twins and I didn't have a problem. But Zack was inhumanly quiet, still, just staring. And he wasn't supposed to be in LA.  
  
"Wasn't expecting to see you for a while," I said, knowing he would never be the first one to break the silence.  
  
"You want to marry my sister," he said flatly, making it sound like an accusation.  
  
Oh boy. This could get scary. It didn't hit me until later that he referred to Jhondie as his sister. That was a first for me to hear from him. "Absolutely," I replied without a hint of apology in my voice. "It's not enough anymore to have her as a girlfriend. Like I said before, if you have to ask me why that is, there's no way you'll understand the answer."  
  
He stood, doing that gliding thing that I had only seen Jhondie do before. Zack leaned over me menacingly. "If you ever hurt her," he said in a cold, flat voice, "I will kill you."  
  
I blinked. Not at the threat, though I believed he meant exactly what he said. That wasn't figure of speech. I would be true worm-food. But that it almost sounded like he had just given me permission to marry her. I swallowed. "I'd have to cut my own heat out first before I could hurt her," I finally said.  
  
Zack backed off and without another word, disappeared from my room. And I wondered right then if maybe, maybe, he didn't ask because he finally knew the answer.  
  
Jhondie  
  
Yes, I knew I should have been more careful with Justin when he got home, but he started it! So when he was sore the next morning, it was pretty much his fault. I still made breakfast though and we were smiling and giggling at each other like a couple of kids who had just spent the night together for the first time. It was silly, but I was so relieved at having him home, I couldn't help but to be a little slaphappy.  
  
We couldn't stay apart for more than a few minutes. And I wondered if this were the way it would be like when we got married, always finding little reasons to touch and quick kisses on the side of the neck. I hoped so. I know Dad never left the house without kissing Mom good-bye and there would be times he just looked at her and she would blush. That was what I wanted and those first few weeks when Justin got out of the hospital, I knew for sure I had found that kind of love that gets in there and never lets go.  
  
I think the first month after Justin got back was one of the best months of my life. I know how odd that sounds since he was healing from nearly being killed, but it still was. We were together a lot, and not just in bed either. I think what had happened had a maturing effect on Justin and I. Instead of playing house, we were becoming a family. I wasn't thinking about a wedding anymore, I was thinking about our lives together being married. There were going to be bills and laundry and yes, eventually kids to be picked up from school. Those things had frightened me before, but not now. I was ready for that life and I was looking forward to it. I had enough adventure. I was ready for some reality.  
  
There was one adventure that wasn't going away though. Eyes Only. I had tried to keep up as much as I could with the boss's stuff, but so much had started to evolve around Justin and his contacts and ability to get information. I did the best I could, but I had to tell EO that LA was out of commission for a while, and he just had to make due until then. He wasn't happy about it, but there wasn't much I could do. I was great for the muscle. If you needed to break into a place, then I was your girl, but if you wanted to interview someone, I was the last person to call. Sure, I knew the mechanics of it, and I knew how to progress and force the info out, but Justin had a way of making people honestly want to help without resorting to psy ops techniques.  
  
I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the crusade wasn't mine. As much as I loved being Justin's partner in all this, that wasn't my world really. I was going to be a doctor, not a journalist. And in the beginning, I had tried to push myself into investigation so that it would be my crusade as well, but that wasn't where the heart was. I knew the career path I was on was the right one for me. I had done what I could on this side, and if Justin needed some quick muscle, I was always on call, but I couldn't help but think there was something poetic about the ultimate killing machine dedicating herself to being a healer.  
  
The boss was very happy to see Justin back though. Funny, he never asked what happened. Justin said there were unavoidable issues and that was that. I wondered if Eyes Only noticed the scar on Justin's cheek and chose to not pry or if he had a policy of not probing into his operatives' personal lives. Then again he had also disappeared for months before without a word of explanation, so all was fair, right?  
  
In any case, I was still helping Justin get caught up with the EO stuff, but my zeal for the work was more for nostalgic sake. Justin's work for Eyes Only had been the reason we met and what made us get so close so quickly. We had a lot of time bonding when we had been staking out a place and as hair-raising as a few of those moments were, they still brought a smile to my face. I would be there as long as Justin needed me on the project and that was that. 


	10. New Faces

Justin  
  
"I had to reschedule an interview with the mayor," Nikki said coldly, slamming my front door for added emphasis. "It took me two weeks to get a call back. Two. And that was with me leaving dozens of messages and e- mails. Another month to set up the meeting. And now I'm going to have to wait yet another three weeks now all because of you."  
  
I gave her a tight smile. "You'll get over it."  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "I've tried being a good friend. I've been helpful while you've been recovering. I've put off a few of my own projects to help you. But when you called my boss to get me here, you crossed a line."  
  
With Jhondie's help, I had manage to get a scoop on a major story that was about to break and told the Times that if they wanted it, Nikki was going to be given to me to assist for a few days. If not, I was going to hand it over to the Tribune. Nikki had been pulled off of all of her projects and handed to me like a harem slave. Kind of funny in a way. And I got paid a very nice bonus for scooping all of the other news organizations, not that the money mattered, but it was rather nice to see.  
  
I had asked Nikki, but she had blown me off. She was busy and didn't have time. She had done what she could while I was in the hospital, but she didn't have time to do all of the grunt work for me. Actually, she was just feeling some competitive edge because I was freelance and ended up with a page one story before she did and she worked at the paper. Above the fold too. First that and then I nearly died for my profession. She wasn't going to let me get that far ahead of her.  
  
"If you can lay off the complaining for about ten minutes, I think you'll be a very happy woman," I said, grabbing my crutches and painfully getting to my feet. With how badly the bones had been broken, there had been some tendon damage as well and that took twice as long to heal. I was going to be in a regular cast for another month and then a walking cast for at least another month after that. Everything else was pretty much healed. There were a few scars, but all things considering, I wasn't going to complain.  
  
Nikki didn't say a word. She set her watch alarm to go off in ten minutes. I sighed and headed to my office, a pissed-off redhead following me. I sat down at my computer, adjusting the camera as she plopped down in the other chair, glaring silent daggers at me. Finally I turned to face her.  
  
"You know I run on the edge," I said. "That's how I get the good stories. I don't have to worry about getting nailed with a review board demanding answers and the only thing that kills my stories are the censors."  
  
Nikki blinked. I was echoing a lot of her complaints that the real issues keep getting dumped on and covered up when someone higher on the food chain doesn't want something out in the open. But I could go to somewhere else and get it published. She didn't have that luxury; she needed the steady paycheck. "I'm edgy too," she said firmly. "You know I don't back off because there's a little heat."  
  
"I know you don't," I replied. "You've said walk right into the fires of hell if it meant getting a story that would right a wrong. But there's something I need to know. Do you mean that? Don't just say yes. Think about it. How far are you willing to go?"  
  
Nikki didn't like being challenged like this. She hated having her ethics called into question because she didn't have a whole hell of a lot. She said it was for a good cause, but I was willing to bet she had never really had to think about what it meant. She thought for a long moment, staring at a spot on the wall before swinging her gaze back to me.  
  
"If I don't try," she finally said, "then who will? I know, there are guys like you, other people trying, but *I* have to do something. Most people are going through this world with their eyes glued shut. They don't want to see and they don't want to know. But once you've opened your eyes, the only choices are to ignore it or do something about it. I can't go back and pretend I haven't seen some of the stuff I have."  
  
"You still haven't said how far you would go," I pushed. "Are you willing to sacrifice all personal glory if it meant being able to really do something about it? You take all the risks, have to accept all of the danger and never, ever can tell anyone that you were the one behind it. All the work, no pay except for personal satisfaction. How far are you willing to go?"  
  
It was like someone had lit a fire in her eyes. "Even if I turned over all of my really hot stuff to you, stuff that wouldn't make it past the editors, you couldn't publish it under your byline. You have to deal with the censors too."  
  
"Do I?"  
  
The question spun lazily between us. Her eyes widened. "I have stuff that makes yours look like a Sunday-School review," she challenged. "If there's a way to get it out, then I don't care who gets the glory. People need to hear it, even if they don't want to."  
  
I grinned. As I spoke, I keyed in a code on my computer. "Just keep in mind that if you kill me, you get no part in this."  
  
Her brow creased in confusion. But then I wished more than anything that I had a camera when the now-familiar red, white and blue lines appeared across the screen and Eyes Only appeared on my computer. We had arranged the meeting time and the code was my way of letting him know I was ready on my side. Nikki's jaw dropped, any hope for keeping a poker face gone in a flash.  
  
"LA," Eyes Only greeted. "I received your last packet. Good to have you back."  
  
I smirked at Nikki. "Anything over Sunday-School review goes to him. Trust me, you haven't seen the half of what I've done." She managed to make a squeaky noise. I turned back to the computer screen. "I wanted you to meet a friend of mine, and fellow crusader. She's been looking for an outlet for the truth and LAX isn't going to be able to work with me for much longer."  
  
I could tell the boss was rather curious, but I wasn't going to go into details. He was just going to have to take my word on it. I knew Jhondie had struggled a lot to keep up with the Eyes Only and her own education. It had been easier on me when I was in college because that's what I wanted to do with my life, plus I had her. Now she was aiming in a totally different direction and it wasn't fair if I kept her trapped in a place she didn't need to stay in. Once she started medical school, that's where she was going to need to concentrate. I wanted Nikki to know now so that by the time Jhondie had to be totally out, Nikki would be fully up to speed.  
  
Nikki looked at me, her eyes still huge. "Is this for real?" she breathed. "If this is some kind of joke, you're a dead man."  
  
"Talk to the man," I suggested. "I've been working with him for a few years now. You wanted to know how close to the edge I was willing to go. Now you know. The question is, are you willing to run the same edge?"  
  
The shock was fading and her lips folded up into an excited smile. I had seen that look. It was the one a cat had right before it pounced on a mouse. "I'm Nikki," she introduced to the man on the screen. I went to say something about not using names but she stopped me with a look. "Use all the code you want. I'm proud of who I am." She turned back to the screen. "And you have no idea how much we have to talk about."  
  
She wasn't kidding either. We were online with the boss for at least an hour, maybe closer to two. She talked to him about several things that she knew would be shot down by the censors and he was able to give her good guidelines on what he would require before a hack would be done. She looked like a small child opening up a Christmas gift and finding a puppy inside.  
  
He and I talked about a hack he was planning on for LA and Nikki was looking at me with new respect. I didn't have to say it, but she had already figured out that most of the LA-based hacks were direct from me. Eyes Only was merely the messenger. I knew she would want to know how I managed to get so much of my stuff, but that was going to have to remain a secret. Eyes Only was all well and good, but Jhondie was never going to be revealed by me.  
  
Finally he had to go and the screen went black. Nikki sat back in her chair, eyes looking a little glazed. I smirked. "So, what was that little meeting you had to postpone?"  
  
She finally looked at me directly. "I just spoke to Eyes Only," she said sounding dazed. "Have you ever...really?"  
  
I shook my head. "No. That's the cardinal rule. Don't ask him anything about who he is. That way, you can never be forced to tell. We're the grunts and do the work, but without him, none of it matters anyways."  
  
She nodded and then her eyes darkened as she looked at me suspiciously. "How long have you known him?"  
  
I shrugged. "I've been working for him since I was in college," I replied. "I had been submitting stuff for a while before we spoke face to face. But I would say for almost the last two years I've been the official LA point man."  
  
Without warning, she shrieked and dove for me, her arms outstretched, fingers wrapping around my throat.  
  
Jhondie  
  
If I had been the jealous type Nikki would have gotten rather hurt when I walked into Justin's apartment. She was practically straddling him, trying to strangle him. He was easily peeling her hands from his throat and laughing at her.  
  
"Any reason in particular you're trying to kill my fiancée?" I asked from the doorway.  
  
Nikki stood up quickly, shooting a nervous glance at Justin. He laughed. "I just introduced her to Eyes Only," he explained. She blinked and I realized she wasn't sure if I knew.  
  
"So Jhondie knew all about this, but you couldn't tell me?" Nikki huffed.  
  
Justin just grinned. "She's cuter."  
  
Nikki glared. "I got involved sort of by accident," I explained to her. "This was before we started dating. And we worked together pretty well." I looked at Justin. "I didn't know you were planning on telling anyone."  
  
Nikki had the instinct to know when she needed to get out of a place. Wish Justin had that. She glanced at her watch. "Well, I now have a ton of stuff I need to do. I'll call when I'm ready to send some stuff up to him."  
  
Justin nodded. "And Nikki," he said before she could take off. "Dink has no idea. Very few people do. And it needs to be kept that way."  
  
Nikki nodded. "Dink and I have an understanding that he doesn't ask about my sources and I won't question him about his. See you later." And with that, she ducked out of the apartment.  
  
I sat down in the chair she had recently vacated. "I can't believe you told her," I said softly. I knew I should be relieved but instead I felt disappointed.  
  
"I'm not being fair to you and I know that," Justin replied, taking my hand. "Don't think I didn't see how much you were run ragged trying to do everything for the month I was in the hospital."  
  
"And I got it done," I pointed out.  
  
"Only because you don't sleep." Okay, he had a point there. "But it's still not fair. You have other things you need to focus on and I know that this isn't something you want to sacrifice medical school for." That's two points, damn him.  
  
"I have no intention of running out on you," I protested. "You of all people should know how important this is to me."  
  
He smiled softly. "I do know. But I think you're going to find a lot more personal redemption when you walk into a waiting room and tell a family that their son is going to pull through after a car accident. Because that's what you want. This has been for me, and I know that. I want you to have time for you."  
  
It felt so much like the end of an era for us. "You know that if you need me to lend a hand with some B & E, I don't mind keeping the skills sharp, right?"  
  
Justin laughed. "As long as I get to think of a way to thank you."  
  
I blushed and laughed with him. "I've got some stuff over at my house that Nikki should have," I said. "We could pick it up and get it to her tonight."  
  
Justin nodded and slowly got to his feet. He was quiet until we got in the car. "Too bad we have to go all the way over to your house to get your stuff," he commented casually.  
  
I blinked. "Where else would it be?" He just looked at me. "Oh."  
  
"No pressure," he said. "The offer is always open, you know that."  
  
I smiled. "I do. I've been thinking a lot about it too." He perked up, looking hopeful. "Things with Kay have calmed down a lot. Even with Kat still around." He laughed. Kat was supposed to pick up Kayla after ballet this evening and they were going to a movie or something like that. I wasn't worried anymore about them going somewhere other than where they said they were going to go. I had kept tabs on them for a while and it appeared Kat's change of heart was quite genuine.  
  
"I'm worried about leaving my mom alone," I finally said. "I know she's lonely. But I do want to be with you." I paused. "Let me think about it, okay? Not like I'm practically living with you now or anything." That was worth a smile. It was true. All I needed to do was a change of address at school and move Cody's litter box to the apartment to officially move in.  
  
We got to my house and walked in. I wished later that I had gone in through the garage and seen Mom's car. It might have made for a better situation. At the time, all I saw was an empty driveway and the house was locked. I opened the front door and we walked in. There was this weird noise.  
  
I paused, confused as to what it was. "Sounds like the washing machine is off balance," I muttered.  
  
Justin's eyes widened. "No..." he said slowly. "We should go..."  
  
I think he meant to say more, but it suddenly hit me that the noise wasn't coming from the laundry room. It was from upstairs. Kayla, I thought furiously. She had been out on a couple of dates with this boy, a nice kid, and now Mom was supposed to work late or something...  
  
I was up the stairs in a flash, Justin struggling to follow me without killing himself on the stairs with the crutches. Too late. I burst through Mom's bedroom door, ready to kill the kid twice, once for faking us all and the second for using Mom's room because the bed was bigger.  
  
It wasn't Kayla.  
  
All the breath in my body wooshed out, the blood dropping to my feet as I saw my mother and Justin's father scrambling to cover themselves with the sheets. 


	11. Cover Up

Justin  
  
Jhondie had thought it was Kayla and her boyfriend in their mother's room. So I had to admit I was curious as to why she was just standing there, not saying a word in the doorway after kicking the door in. Then I got up behind her and felt my jaw land somewhere beside hers.  
  
"Jhondie!" Ashley gasped out, holding the sheet up to her chest. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but what was there to say at that moment.  
  
"Naked," Jhondie squeaked. "You're naked. And together. And naked." I didn't think it was possible for her eyes to get any wider than they were.  
  
In all the years since my mother had died, I had never caught my dad with another woman. Ever. He made it a point to not flaunt a relationship in front of the twins and me. I had seen him kiss a few girlfriends, but this was brand new territory. And oh, God, I wished it was still unexplored.  
  
I caught Dad's eyes and we just stared for a long minute. He was embarrassed yes, but I think it wasn't just that he had been caught in the act. He had very deliberately kept something from me that I should have known about. Neither of us had ever lied or deceived each other about relationships before. Until now. I couldn't even imagine what kind of excuse he was going to have.  
  
But that was for later. I knew that I had to get Jhondie out of there while she was still at a loss. Because if she got it together while they were still in bed, someone was going to get hurt, and I had a feeling it wasn't going to be me or her mother. I grabbed Jhondie's shoulders.  
  
"Downstairs," I ordered softly. "We go downstairs now and wait." I almost added 'for them to get dressed' but that might have snapped her out of it. Don't ask me how I managed with the crutches, but I got her to take a step back, letting the door swing shut. Jhondie just stood there for a second, still totally dazed.  
  
"The door opened and they were naked," she whispered hoarsely, still staring at nothing. "In bed. Naked and in bed and...together." She had opened the door and they were probably still...oh, God, that mental image was making me sick. I could just imagine what an actual memory could do.  
  
"Let's go downstairs," I managed to say, getting her moving. We went into the living room and sat down on the couch, waiting. Jhondie was starting to get her equilibrium back when Ashley and Dad finally came down the stairs. They weren't holding hands or anything. Thank God for small favors.  
  
They sat on the couch opposite us and everyone was dead silent. I'm the one that's supposed to have the words for any situation and I couldn't think of a single thing that was appropriate. Finally I found the one question that I did want an answer to. "How long has this been going on?" I asked. Dad hadn't been dating anyone for a while and I wondered if they had kept this from us all this time.  
  
"About six weeks or so," Dad finally answered. "You know we were friends longer, but six weeks since...ah...we've..."  
  
"Been intimate," Ashley provided quietly.  
  
Jhondie's head was in her hands. "I'm going to be sick," she muttered.  
  
Ashley's eyes narrowed. "I know this was unexpected, but the drama isn't required."  
  
Jhondie looked up sharply, her eyes flashing with anger. "I haven't even started with drama," she snapped back. Dad didn't know what she meant but I did and so did her mother. If Jhondie's goal was to scare her, she had just done a good job of it. "What the hell were you thinking, Mother?"  
  
One cool eyebrow raised as Ashley stared at Jhondie. It was the look most mothers knew the second they gave birth. The one a kid ran from. But Jhondie was too heated to be intimidated. "Pray tell, when did I start answering to you concerning my behavior, Daughter?" The subtle emphasis on the word 'daughter' let Ashley's opinion come through more than the words.  
  
"I don't know," Jhondie said sarcastically. "Maybe when you started fu..."  
  
"Fighting's not going to help," I broke in quickly. Jhondie looked at me, her eyes boring in, telling me that I better not be agreeing with them. Trust me, I wasn't. "We just have to deal with it."  
  
"Deal with it?" Jhondie's tone had dropped to complete menace.  
  
"It happened," I said. "We can't make it not happen. They had a brief affair. Fine. Caught now, fun's over, so we just deal with the aftermath."  
  
Dad shot Ashley a look. "Son, this isn't a brief little fling," he said. "Yes, it's out in the open and needs to be dealt with like four adults. But it's not over by a long shot."  
  
I swear, I could feel everything in my stomach want to come spewing out. It wasn't that my father had slept with a woman or that I had walked in on them. I could deal with that. Probably laugh it off. It was just that his choice of bed partner was severely lacking in good taste. Yes, she was an attractive woman, but I knew from Jhondie she hadn't dated much since becoming a widow, so she was lonely and vulnerable, and taking advantage of that was just sick.  
  
"Oh really?" Jhondie asked brightly. "So why don't you guys get married, and then I can marry my stepbrother and we can all move to Alabama and go on talk shows." She picked up a redneck accent. "Sounds like a hoot ta me!"  
  
"That's the response I would have expected from Kayla," Ashley snapped. "Really Jhondie, I would expect some maturity from you. Maybe even the slightest bit of happiness that I'm happy, or is the world revolving around you again?"  
  
"HAPPY?" Jhondie yelled. "Happy? You're screwing my future father-in-law, lying about being "just friends" and I'm supposed to be happy? Sure, Mom, I'm soooo happy for you. And mature? How many times have you lied about where you were going to be in the last six weeks? Claiming you were working late and taking off for a quickie kind of reminds me of saying you had to study at a friend's and run off. Isn't that what you were grounding Kayla for? You've done nothing but lie for weeks and it's perfectly okay?"  
  
I recognized the look on Dad's face. I used to run from it when I was a kid. "Lying?" he said in a low voice. "Tell me, Jhondie, since you seem so adverse to lying and wanting things to be in the open, have you done what you promised me you would and told your mother about your involvement with Eyes Only?"  
  
Ashley looked confused. Jhondie paled, her mouth snapping shut. Dad smirked. "I didn't think so. If you want to get self-righteous, you might want to make sure you're not being a hypocrite in the process."  
  
Ashley shook her head slightly. "No," she said softly. "Tell me you wouldn't be so stupid as to do something like that. Either of you." Dad didn't understand the depth of what she was saying. And I was willing to bet that she had just figured out why Jhondie and Zack had been fighting so hard just a few months ago.  
  
"I got involved with him a few years ago," I answered. "Jhondie helped me out for a while with research and the like." Ashley glared daggers at me, letting me know she knew exactly what "and the like" meant.  
  
"He's the only media for the truth about things to come out," Jhondie said in a much more subdued voice. Her eyes met her mother's squarely. "You never know when a big secret might need an impartial way of getting to the public."  
  
Dad caught the underlying tension to her remark. He glanced at me, but I wasn't saying a word. "Oh my God," Ashley muttered, her fingertips against her temples. Her hands dropped and she glared at Jhondie again. "And you thought it was perfectly okay to keep this from me?"  
  
Jhondie's eyebrows rose. "What I was doing affected me, not you. I made sure you and Kay were never dragged into what I was doing."  
  
Dad went to say something, but I cut him off quick. If he mentioned what I had told him at the hospital, there was going to be a free-for-all. "And we're still dealing with two different situations," I said sharply. "On one hand, Jhondie knows what I am doing, but she's no longer an active part of it. You two obviously are still active and what you're doing." I looked at directly at my father. "And I've heard a whole lot of times growing up that if you're hiding and lying about something, it's because you know it's the wrong thing to be doing."  
  
"And what the hell do you think you've been doing?" Ashley exploded. Great. She was still stuck on the Eyes Only thing.  
  
"Protecting you," Jhondie said coldly. "Some secrets are required or else the person that knows it is responsible for that knowledge. You of all people should be able to understand that." That steel in her voice only came out when she was dropping back into soldier mode, and it was scary to hear. Ashley noticed it too and backed off slightly. Dad was still confused about the weird by-plays. I had to get Jhondie out of there or she was going to lose it and God only knew what was going to be said then.  
  
Jhondie was on her feet before I could say a word. "You know what," she said quickly, "You're going to do whatever in order to defend your positions. You've talked yourself into being blind about why it's sick and ignored all of the reasons why you shouldn't and nobody is going to make you wake up. Go back upstairs and screw away. Just try not to let Kay walk in."  
  
Jhondie glanced at me and her expression begged me to get her out of here. I was way ahead of her on this. What were they thinking? What was he thinking? How could anyone mistake this for something that would be a good idea? I couldn't help but think about when Jhondie's dad had died. Jhondie had turned to me as a friend, and it would have been very easy to use that to have seduced her. But it was wrong. I was tempted that one night when she was in my bedroom, but the difference was that I didn't give in. Ashley had turned to Dad wanting a friend and I wondered how long it was going to be before she realized he had used her vulnerability against her. That was going to make for some pleasant family relations later on.  
  
I stood, painfully getting to my feet. "Do what you need to do," I said to them flatly. "I can't make your decisions for you. But I don't have to tolerate them either." I glanced at Jhondie. "I'm leaving."  
  
Without a word to either of our parents, she stalked out of the house. "Justin," Dad started to say, but I waved him off.  
  
"Not now," I said, turning away from them. "Whatever you have to say...not now." I couldn't think of another thing I wanted to say and instead limped out of the house and got into the car. Jhondie was in the driver's seat, engine idling and waiting for me.  
  
I barely had time to shut the door when she already tore off. She had that focused look, mouth set in hard lines as she shifted roughly. Great. This was a rental and she was going to tear out the transmission. "Calm down or let me drive," I finally said, sharper than I intended.  
  
Her head snapped towards me. "Don't you dare tell me that I should be calm about this. You can't possibly..."  
  
"No, I'm not," I interrupted her angrily. "I said calm the driving down. When we get back to my apartment, then we both can flip out."  
  
She looked back towards the road and I could tell her driving was a little calmer now. "You're really not okay with this?"  
  
"I am as far from okay as I could possibly get without vomiting. And I'm still not positive that I'm not going to be sick."  
  
We drove quietly for a few minutes. "This isn't going to change us," she said, but it almost sounded like a question. I took her hand.  
  
"Jhondie, you are many things to me, but you've never been a sister. You've got enough brothers already." And quite frankly, at least one of her brothers was on the scary side. I shook my head. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that my father did this. I don't know what was going through his head, but he had no right."  
  
"She's the one that's been lying this whole time." Jhondie's scowl deepened. "Talk about setting an example for Kayla."  
  
"I don't give a damn what they do," I finally declared. "They're going to have to live with the consequences of their actions. But I will not give up you so they can have their little fling. Period."  
  
That got a little smile out of her. "I called becoming a Carter first."  
  
I relaxed a little in my seat. She had called it first. They were just going to have to deal with the fact that this needed to end. I thought it would be over pretty quick now. It wasn't going to be as much fun now that it wasn't a secret anymore. Things should get back to the way they were pretty soon.  
  
But sometimes fate really makes things get weird. 


	12. Dealing

Jhondie  
  
"What's 286 times 384?" Justin asked from the doorway of the office.  
  
"One hundred nine thousand, eight hundred twenty-four," I replied absently as I stared at the paper I was writing, trying to decide if 'the changes of the mitochondria DNA that result in' sounded better than 'the changes of the mitochondria DNA, which result in'. I normally don't agonize over which word to pick, but for the life of me, I couldn't decide which way I liked it more.  
  
"You did that in your head?"  
  
"Yeah." I knew from his tone I probably should be paying more attention to this conversation, but half of my grade was going to be determined by this one paper and I was determined to blow my professor away with it.  
  
"So you're good at math, right?" Justin insisted. Okay. Time to pay attention here. I can multitask, but Justin required all mental circuits. Sometimes it sucked to have a smart fiancée.  
  
I swiveled the chair around so that I was facing him. "You know I am."  
  
He gimped into the office and sat down in the other chair. "Physics too, right? Not my best subjects, but you're good at them both right?"  
  
"I'm assuming you're going somewhere with this."  
  
"See," he explained. "There's this mathematically anomaly that's occurring and I think there's some time-space warp that's happening which is causing the problem." I blinked. "Theoretically," he continued, "since I have a cast on one leg, I'm only wearing a sock on my other foot. Therefore, my socks should last me twice as long. However, I'm using half as many, but mysteriously going through twice as much. I'm thinking some wormhole that's attracted to socks is localizing itself in my drawer. What's your opinion?"  
  
I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Cody has a full-length fur coat," I reminded him. "He has no need for your socks."  
  
"I know," Justin said, hands up in mock surrender, "that's why I know it can't be your cat at all. Since you don't like men's socks and Cody can't be stealing them, then it's got to be some trans-dimensional thing."  
  
I could feel the smile forming on my face, despite my attempt to keep it under control. Cody hadn't taken moving very well and Justin swore he was getting revenge by stealing his socks. Okay, the first day, Justin came in and there was Cody on the back of the couch with a pair in his mouth. He meowed, picked them up and scampered off. And no, I still hadn't been able to find that pair.  
  
"I'm not getting rid of my cat because of a sock fixation," I said firmly.  
  
He smiled. "I don't want you to get rid of your cat. Just please find a way to keep him out of my sock drawer."  
  
I laughed. "There's something wrong about putting baby locks on a drawer to keep a cat out." I had no idea how Cody was doing it, but if there was a way to open the drawer without having opposable thumbs, then Cody would figure it out.  
  
Justin leaned over and kissed the tip of my nose. "I've got to meet Nikki tonight and go over some things for the boss. You want to come?"  
  
I shook my head. I appreciated the way he was trying to keep me in the loop, but I was buried in schoolwork. "I can't," I said apologetically. "Two papers and a test to study for. Plus research." I hated to admit it, but the best thing Justin could have done was bring Nikki into the Informant Net. I didn't have the time to dedicate to it like I used to. The more school went on, the more I wondered how people who had to sleep managed. Granted, I was taking a heavier course load than most people, but still, I needed those extra eight hours a day.  
  
"I know what it's like," he said with a wistful smile. "I'm just sorry I can't help you like you helped me."  
  
I shrugged a looked around. "A nice place to study, not having to worry about paying rent like most of my classmates, I think you're doing plenty to help me."  
  
He grinned and stood, putting a few things in the backpack he had started carrying while he was stuck on the crutches. "I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours," he promised and then was gone again.  
  
I turned back to the paper I was still muddling through, but I was now in too good of a mood to write. The last several weeks had certainly been a challenge for Justin and I. The day after I caught my mother, I had come home while she was at work, packed my stuff and was gone before she got home. Justin didn't want me doing this just to run away, but I pointed out that the only reason I had been hesitating was that I thought she needed me. Since she obviously wasn't lacking for company, I could be where I wanted to be the most. Justin wasn't about to argue with that perfect of logic, so despite Cody's displays of unhappiness at the suddenness of our change of address, we were now one happy little family.  
  
Kayla wasn't happy about it though. She had asked me more than once what was going on, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I didn't even want to remember what I had seen when that door crashed open. And then Tom ratting me out about Eyes Only. How juvenile can you get? But passing the blame is popular when you're guilty about something. Better to do that than accept responsibility for your own actions, I guess.  
  
I was making time for Kayla though and going out and doing stuff with her. My schedule was getting tighter and tighter, but even if it was just picking her up from ballet, at least we would have a few minutes. I knew it hurt her that I wasn't talking much to Mom, but there wasn't anything to say. Kay couldn't understand how I could get so icy so quickly, but there wasn't a choice in the matter. What Mom was doing was sickening. Weeks later and it still made me sick to think about it.  
  
I knew Justin and his father had talked privately. Justin still wasn't happy about the situation, but their relationship hadn't deteriorated like me and mom's had. I did try to talk to Mom once. It wasn't pretty and the words passed best left unrepeated. Tom had tried to talk to me the last time he was over here with the twins, but I went all ice-princess on him. He told me that no matter what; I wasn't going to be able to drive him out of his son's life. I had given him my sweetest smile and told him that I didn't want him out of his son's life. Just out of my mother's pants. Needless to say, that wasn't exactly a bonding moment either.  
  
I knew part of it was that I didn't know Mom was sleeping with anyone at all since Dad died. She had gone out on dates, but never anything serious like this. She had always been sedate and not one guy had ever gotten her worked up. That was the way she was supposed to be. Calm and cool and looking at things with an air of wisdom when she decided on how a relationship should go. Not this wild chick that would seduce her daughter's future father in law. I couldn't reconcile it and until I could, the best thing for me was to not be around the situation at all.  
  
Besides, with Justin's recovery, school and Kayla, I had enough on my plate. I was not ready to deal with her bad choices. The fallout was eventually going to happen and it wasn't going to be pretty when it did. I had other things to deal with like Cody stealing his new daddy's socks all the time. Once we got that worked out along with who does the laundry next, Justin and I were going to have a perfect relationship.  
  
And that's the way it seemed as the days turned into weeks. Justin and I had a few arguments here and there, but we were doing better. I just had to keep restocking his sock drawer without him knowing about it. Eventually, Cody was going to make a mistake and his stash would be located. Or else we would move and the new tenants would wonder over a bunch of men's socks in some hidden location. Either way, it wasn't anything to worry about now.  
  
Justin and I had made a couple of other changes too. We had actually started to go to church more. It had started more or less when we were trying to decide where to get married and oddly agreed easily on a whole formal church ceremony. Father Carlos at St. Andrews insisted on couples doing pre-marriage counseling before he would marry us there. The scary thing is that he didn't admonish much about us living in sin, and I actually learned some things. It still creeped me that a man who hadn't been in a relationship since he was sixteen knew so much about marriage, but he was a good man and had some good ideas. I'm not sure if it was a side effect of Justin being injured or us just being there so much anyways, but Justin and I started going to mass several times a month now. Not every week, but close enough.  
  
I felt like I was getting my life in order. Like I was becoming a regular person with a job and family and everything. I couldn't forget about the darkness that was following me, but I could learn to deal with it so that it wouldn't run my life. Not hearing from Zack helped, I think. I didn't want him out of my life, but I wasn't ready to have him there. I had enough to deal with as far as siblings went with Kayla. And I didn't realize how upset she was about the situation with Mom and me until one Sunday I came out of the Confessional and Kat was sitting there.  
  
Seeing Kat in church was like seeing a priest at a porno convention. She was wearing her usual low-slung pants, this time with a grease-stained tank top. The top of her devil tattoo was visible, but I could only be thankful she wasn't exposing her other tattoo to the congregation.  
  
She grinned at me and stood as I stepped out of the booth. I thought about running, but that would have left her alone in a church. There was some kind of blasphemy in that. "So," she said brightly as I approached, "you finally confessing your carnal desires for my lusciousness?"  
  
Anyone else and I might have laughed. With Kat, she would have taken it for an invitation. "Kat, I think you're desecrating a holy place."  
  
A young novitiate was walking up the aisle and Kat look at her appreciatively, giving her a lascivious wink. I almost groaned. The girl looked startled and hurried a little faster. Kat turned back to me. "Desecration," she said firmly, "would be me getting a little of that penguin love behind the alter. Change her whole outlook on life but some praying would be involved later." Kat paused speculatively. "Though she would be screaming for God a lot during."  
  
"Kat!" My cheeks were turning pink. "Is there a reason why you're here?"  
  
Her teasing turned serious. "Big reason," she said. "But I am not letting those unholy words come from these lips in a holy place. Even I'm not that determined to end up in Hell."  
  
Okay, now I was curious. We went outside to a little bench. She turned to me. "Justin asked me to do something," she said. "In my life, I have seen and done a lot. But I have never been asked to do something so sick by a man who should know better." I know the confusion must have been evident on my face. Her voice lowered. "He wants me to fix his car."  
  
"What?" I demanded. "You're acting like something is wrong over his car?" I thought my heart was going to stop when she was acting like something was wrong and it turned out it was nothing. The girl was begging for a strangling.  
  
"It's a Ford!" Kat yelled. "Jhondie, the boy is rich as hell and he wants me to use these gifted hands to bring a Ford Taurus back to life! That's sick! It's profane!"  
  
"It's just a car," I broke in. I thought she was going to pass out.  
  
"Now who's talking blasphemy?" She shook her head. "Jhondie, get him in bed and do wild things to him until he agrees to take on a car that can be driven through a small wall and live. Trust me, I've got all kinds of special touches in mind, but I'm not putting that kind of effort into something that should never have been born in the first place."  
  
I was trying to keep from laughing. If there was one thing in the world that Kat took seriously, it was her cars. "Why don't you give him some options?" I suggested. "He said to fix his car because you haven't said what else you can do."  
  
She grinned. "I've got something in mind with plenty of room in the backseat. Maybe even enough for three."  
  
"Kat!"  
  
She laughed. "Okay, okay, but if I don't remind you I'm ready to initiate you into lady-love, you might forget."  
  
"I don't think it's possible for anyone to forget you."  
  
She looked quite pleased with herself. "Good. Now, when you going to get back in with your Mom?"  
  
I blinked. That came out of left field. "Um, that's not your problem," I finally managed to say.  
  
"Yeah, right," she protested. "See, Kay's bummed about it. When Kay's bummed, then I get down. When I'm down, Rach wants to cheer me up. Her idea of cheer means I get out of bed more tired than when I went to sleep if you know what I mean. And then I'm useless to Scott with the cars. It's hurting my business, so yeah, it is my problem."  
  
The scary thing is her logic made perfect sense. "Kat," I said uncomfortably, "this is something I have to work out with Mom. And Kay needs to understand we both love her and this has nothing to do with her. It's us and we have to deal with it."  
  
"Uh huh." Kat's expression expressed her disbelief. "That's exactly what parents say in a divorce, usually right before one takes off and is never seen again."  
  
"That's not going to happen," I reassured her. Then it hit me. Beneath all of the exterior reasons and flirtations, Kat was here because she was worried about Kayla. Her friend was hurting and she was trying to do something about it. Well, miracles could occur. Who would have guessed Kat had a soft heart in there? "Mom and I will work it out eventually. But in the meantime, I'm here when Kay needs me."  
  
"You better be," Kat said, standing. She looked like she was going to say something else, but left it at that as she sauntered away, making at least one alter boy forget where he was walking.  
  
I leaned back on the bench, thinking. Maybe things did need to change a little. It had been over two months, and maybe I needed to relax. Breathe a little. Mom was doing something I didn't approve of. I had done a heck of a lot of things Zack didn't approve of, but he still loved me. I sighed. I needed to go to the library and do some research. But while I was there, I mostly was thinking about my family and what it meant to me. 


	13. Visitors

Justin  
  
All I wanted to know was why my apartment ended up being the place that Kayla and Kat liked to hang around the most at. Kayla didn't live here. Kat was really busy at the junkyard working on cars. But it seemed like I was always tripping over those two. Kat would pick Kay up after ballet and they would end up here for a while until Kat took her home. Jhondie was spending most of her days in school and nights in the library. They weren't here to see her, and they ignored me most of the time.  
  
Maybe it was the fridge. I would know Kat was here because she would be pawing through the fridge, digging things out. On the plus side, she actually did know how to cook and would make enough for four. Then Jhondie would come home at one in the morning, eat something that reheated nicely and then find a way to very sweetly thank me later for making it for her. I wasn't about to tell. Her or Kat for that matter. Kat would figure if I'm getting some for it, then the very least Jhondie could do was reciprocate on her. That was never going to happen, but Kat was an optimist.  
  
I think Kayla wanted to be over here because Jhondie wasn't. When she was home, she had to deal with her mother. When she was here with Jhondie, she had to deal with the same problems. She didn't understand what was wrong and neither of them would tell her. It was sad because she wanted to do something, anything that would make the dreariness go away, but I didn't think it was my place to tell and both mother and sister thought they were keeping her out of it. They didn't understand that she was in there no matter what.  
  
But Kayla needed some place to hang out that wasn't morbidly depressing and Kat, I think, just liked being under foot. And, even though Jhondie would have killed me if she found out, occasionally I would send them out to do something for Eyes Only. Nothing serious, most of the time it was dropping off something to Nikki or picking up something from an informant, but those two practically had their own theme song as they scampered to Kat's car to have some wild adventure in the name of Eyes Only. Wild adventure. They had no idea how wild working for the boss could be, and I had no intention of teaching them otherwise.  
  
That wasn't the only reason they liked hanging around my place. I wasn't as morbid as Jhondie. Not that she was as depressed as she had been last spring when the trouble with Bryn and Kayla was going on, but she was unhappy with the situation and that leaked through in some ways. I was doing better because Dad and I had talked about the situation, just him and I. I hadn't planned it, but it was Family Dinner Night and Brit had made dinner all by herself that night. She begged me to come over, and I had to acquiesce.  
  
Jhondie was in the library as usual that night, which I thought was a good thing, despite Brittany's disappointment. It was better that I deal with Dad the first time by myself. I had developed much better listening skills than Jhondie and could deal with situations much more calmly. If I still wanted to smack him for doing something so stupid, I could easily see Jhondie giving in to the urge.  
  
Dinner was somewhat restrained to say the least. Lucky for me Brit had plenty to chatter about so there wasn't an awkward silence and even Bryan talked. I had a feeling they knew something was up, but they were still young enough that they didn't care what the problems were, they just wanted them gone.  
  
The twins cleaned up after dinner, leaving Dad and me alone on the back patio. That's when the awkward silence descended. Dad and I had always talked so easily and this coldness was unfamiliar. Finally I broke the silence. Not because I couldn't stand it anymore, but because the little interrogator that was always running around in my head couldn't stand it anymore and had to get some questions answered.  
  
"Why her?" I finally asked. "All the women in this city and you decide to focus on her. Dad, that's not right to take advantage of someone like that. I know how naïve that sounds, but it doesn't make it less true."  
  
Dad's eyebrows rose. "Take advantage of her?" he said with an amused smile. "She seduced me, thank you."  
  
The look I gave him clearly said I didn't believe a word of it. He let out a little laugh. "She knew what it was like to have a kid in the hospital," he finally said. I was confused for a second, and then remember the whole Katherine-Jhondie-leukemia thing. "Those first couple of days, I thought I was watching you die, and she knew exactly what it was like. When you can share something like that with someone, you get closer to them. One night, we had gone out to get some things for you and well, we ended up a lot closer than we had ever been before. Nothing serious happened, but enough. A few nights later we met up again and talked about it and decided that it would never happen again, it would add too much complication to our lives. And that was when she jumped me."  
  
"For some reason I just can't see her acting like that," I responded.  
  
Dad smirked. "Where do you think Jhondie gets that hot-blooded temper from?"  
  
I could feel my face get hot. "Okay, let's not even...Are you in love with her?" Real smooth way of trying to get it out of him. Why could I handle hardened criminals but not my father?  
  
Dad paused. "If you're asking me if I'm going to marry her, the answer is no. Before anything happened, she talked about men she was dating, and the problem was that she didn't want complicated relationships, but she didn't want casual bed partners either. Both of us feel we don't want to bring another parent in the house while we still have kids at home."  
  
"That's not what I asked."  
  
Dad hated to be cornered. But I wasn't going to give in on this. I had a right to know. It was several minutes before he answered. "She's my very dear friend, so of course I love her. But I can't say I'm in love with her."  
  
I had to take that at face value. I could see that he cared about her. And I had to say I felt better about it, but I was still not right with it. As long as they kept it under wraps I thought I could deal with it. Jhondie, however, was a whole other story. She was pissed. And with Jhondie, she didn't forgive easily. The fact she hadn't gone for blood spoke about how much she had matured from when we had first met. Dad tried to talk to her one time when he was over, but he got a very clear warning to stay out of her face. Luckily, Dad can take a hint. He retracted the olive branch quickly and had not tried to re-extend it.  
  
In some ways I wished it had been Jhondie and her mother that had made up because then I wouldn't constantly have two little visitors running around my apartment. And forget about locking the door. One Saturday morning I had gotten up early and walked out and they were there, sleeping on the couch with several DVD's in front of them, and one that had spun back to the menu on the TV. Kayla knew the alarm code and Kat's mechanical experience led her to being able to pick a lock easily. Kay had known Jhondie was at a study group and would be there all night at least. I gave up and gave Kayla a key and made sure I was decently dressed when I walked out of my bedroom in the morning. Kat had said I didn't need to bother with that, but I especially wasn't parading around in just boxers in front of her.  
  
Things came to a head one day when I had been in my office most of the day, working on some of my own stories and two for Eyes Only. Jhondie had been the best partner she could have been, but I could not express how great it was to have Nikki. If Jhondie had been inclined towards journalism, then maybe she would have been utterly perfect, but she followed my direction on things. She would track down all information on something I had started, but she wasn't out actively seeking new injustices to be corrected. Nikki was with a vengeance. Even the boss had said the quantity and quality of the stuff coming from LA had improved. I couldn't vouch for quality, but he was right on the other.  
  
I still double-checked everything that was going to the boss and got it sent out to him. Nikki didn't have any of the direct addresses yet. She had grumbled that Jhondie had them, but there were a few differences between her and Jhondie. If Nikki didn't know where something was, she could never tell. Jhondie, I don't think anyone could make her tell. She had received training that Nikki and I could never hope to equal.  
  
I finally finished up a few details and sent the packet off to Eyes Only. There were some corrupt police that were going to be squirming when the next hack came out. As much as the government denounced the hacks and screamed that they were all blatant lies, it was interesting how many times a person would have "family emergencies" or "medical problems" requiring them to resign after a hack. The truth was getting out there. And although it might get me killed one day, it was being listened to.  
  
I stretched in my seat and wondered if I would be able to kick the two girls in my living room out for the night. Jhondie was supposed to be home by eight and I was looking forward to having a quiet evening with my fiancée. Kat would pout that she couldn't be part of the quiet night, but Kayla would make gagging sounds and yell at Kat that she's not allowed to have those thoughts about her sister. Had we been through this a time or two before?  
  
When I limped into the living room, they were sprawled in front of the TV with an open box of pizza and Kat had a ton of paint chips and fabric swatches in front of her. Oh, boy. I was not getting out of this easily. I had asked Kat to fix my car. She had brooded for a few days and then declined, informing me, "You are a rich boy. There is no need for a rich hottie to be driving that piece of crap around. So just smile, hand over a big wad of cash, and you will thank me later."  
  
At the time I thought it was a really good way to get her out of my hair for a few days. I had no idea she would be pestering me even more wanting to know answers to questions about displacement and horsepower and turbo charging over super charging. I finally did what I think she had been angling for all this time. I handed her a wad of cash and told her that I only wanted to pick out the color.  
  
I actually got to see the car once while they were working on it. Scott had put aside a couple of other projects for this. It was fitting, although he didn't know it. I had been the one quietly been sending a lot of business their way since the spring. It kept them out of the drug scene and I had to admit, they were really good at what they did. I knew a lot of the wealthy people in LA now and most of them were always in need of a good mechanic that wouldn't ask questions about why those bullet holes got there or even think about reporting it to the police.  
  
The car was being based off of the body of a 2004 Jaguar SR. Beautiful car in its day, but it had been through some rough times. Kat and Scott were restoring it completely and Kat was adding some new modifications to it. She had grinned at me and said when I saw the finished product I would be all up for that romp around the junkyard in gratitude. I doubted that, but I had to admit that it was going to be a major upgrade over my old Ford.  
  
So here she was in my living room with the samples for paint color and the interior fabric. She had been after me for about a week to do this, but I had been putting it off. I left decorating to Jhondie. But Kat was determined to get me to do this and I think the pizza was there as a bribe to make me sit down on the couch. I sighed. Might as well get this over with.  
  
"If I pick the paint color, can I have the rest of the night child-free?" I asked as I settled myself on the couch."  
  
Kayla made a face. "I don't see any children in here, do you Kat?"  
  
Kat grinned. "Since I'm not into kids, then I guess not." I groaned. I was not going to win. Kat smirked. "If you would have picked out the colors last week like I asked, then I would be painting today and spending all next week doing the interior."  
  
I rolled my eyes and started looking at the samples she brought. For some reason a bright color didn't seem right, and the dark green one screamed "still in the closet". No blue. Do not even consider blue with me. Don't ask why, just accept it. Gray? Looked like it was dirty all the time. Silver was too flashy, black too dull. And then I caught an awesome color that practically jumped out. It was black, but had this silver undertone that seemed to make the car have a subdued glitter. The gold one similar looked like something a pimp-car would be painted in, but this was sharp. Kat was pleased. With the silver and chrome accents, it would look very sharp indeed. For the interior I ended up going with black and gray leather with some silver thread accents. There. Done. Not too painful either. I looked up and that's when I noticed Kay had quietly taken my crutches and put them in the kitchen.  
  
She sat down and beamed a sweet smile at Kat who hurriedly gathered up her paint samples and plopped down in the chair across from me. "You were right," she laughed. "This was easy."  
  
I eyed them both. "What are you two up to?"  
  
"Jhondie tells you everything," Kayla said with subtle emphasis. "So you have to know what's bugging her. She won't tell me, Mom won't tell me, but someone is going to tell me what's wrong. All I can think is she's pregnant, but Mom wouldn't be that pissed over that."  
  
"She's not pregnant," I replied. "There are just some things going on that they need to deal with."  
  
Kay shook her head. "Same line that Jhondie and Mom have been giving out. But you know details and you can't exactly get away."  
  
I patted the couch. "This is comfortable to sit here for a long time."  
  
Kat grinned impishly. "If you don't want to talk about that, it's fine. I got lots of other things to talk about. You should see this new chick Rach has been dating lately. Oh my God. I tell you, if I wasn't with Scott, I would be dragging her into the nearest bedroom and..."  
  
"Kat!" Kay half-yelled. Her nose was wrinkled in disgust. "You're making me sick over here."  
  
Kat waved her hand. "Then go get us some drinks because I know Justin would love to hear all the details while you're in there. I saw a couple bottles of Hard Lemonade in the fridge. All three of us could kick back and have a drink while he gets the inside scoop."  
  
I looked at Kayla. "Before you even think about that, keep in mind what happened the last time Jhondie saw you drunk." Kay paled slightly. I turned my attention to Kat. "You're not going to get anywhere with that. I can tune you out for hours. I've had plenty of practice lately."  
  
Kat didn't lose her smirk. "Fine. Let's hit another topic of conversation then, 'cause I'm in a talkative mood. So when did Jhondie get her tattoo?"  
  
I blinked. "Her what?"  
  
"That barcode," Kat replied. "Pretty sweet deal. Not my style though. I would add a little something to it to spice it up."  
  
I shot a glance at Kayla, but she was just as shocked as I was. She sure as hell hadn't mentioned the barcode to Kat. "She...she doesn't show that to people," I finally managed to stumble out. "When, ah, how did you see it?"  
  
She shrugged. "A while back. You know, she's so down on mine, but I bet once upon a time, she had her wild side to get tattooed. This is why I still hold the hope for us because at some point, she was up for more than saving the world and making A's in school."  
  
"Kat," I said unsteadily, "The worst thing you could do would be to bring this up to Jhondie."  
  
Her expression was so innocent I could have slapped her. "I wouldn't have to if there was something else to talk about like why her and their mom are acting like such jerks."  
  
Kay's expression was a mix of shock and respect. I totally understood. Kat had managed to casually get me right in a corner. Very, very few people could pull that off. She just thought that I was sensitive over the barcode because it represented some wild point in Jhondie's life. She had no idea how accurate she was.  
  
I blew out a breath. "I am not going into details," I said. "But Jhondie is not happy with some choices her mother has made and they are both dealing with it. And for now, the best way for them to deal with it is to live apart. I don't think they are going to be like this forever, but it's best for now."  
  
I could tell from Kay's face that she was still confused and hurt. She didn't understand how this could be best for anyone. I didn't blame her there. Jhondie was a parent-figure in her life, and she had lost that. It had to hurt. Kat though, there was something in her eyes that said she had a pretty good guess as to what the bad choice was. Not the specifics, but she was smart and with a little thought, would figure it out. The scary thing is that I trusted her to keep it to herself when she did. She had enough life experience to know what would be bad for a young girl to hear and what wouldn't.  
  
Kat let things go at that and I was glad she dropped the issue with the barcode. I was going to have to warn Jhondie Kat had seen it. That wasn't going to be pleasant. Kat had seen Jhondie do things. Not much, but Kat was far more intelligent then most people would suspect. If she ever heard things...she was smart enough to put it together. But that was something to deal with in the future.  
  
For now, we had to deal with our lives as they were. And Jhondie did need to stop avoiding one thing in her life and deal with it. I wasn't sure how or what I could do, but I was going to have to figure it out quick. I had racked my brain trying to think of something, anything, but nothing was coming.  
  
The funny thing is, the answers to a lot of prayers came with a single phone call. 


	14. One Single Call

Jhondie  
  
I was tired, I knew that much. I had been up for days studying and working on papers constantly. I could not express how much I respected Justin for managing his final semester in college while still having to sleep, handle my emotional breakdown and keep up with Eyes Only. When Spring Break came at the end of March, I crashed hard. I still had a paper that was to be turned in the week after break (the professor that assigned that knowing the timing is surely burning in Hell) but it was mostly done and I knew I could spend at least the first few days relaxing.  
  
The first night when I came home from classes, I knew most of my classmates were off to parties to celebrate. I crashed. Justin ordered a couple of pizzas and we were going to watch movies or something sweet like that. I was out before the FBI warning faded from the screen. Justin watched the movie and managed to wake me up enough to get to bed. For me to sleep three or four hours means I was extremely tired. I had fallen asleep around six and when the phone rang at 2 AM, I was still dead to the world.  
  
The phone was on my side of the bed. Because my side was usually unoccupied, it was strategically placed so Justin has to crawl across the bed to pick it up and by the time he does that, he's coherent enough to talk. You don't work for Eyes Only and not get used to calls at all hours of the night. I grabbed the phone, muttering "Hello?" automatically.  
  
"Are you still willing to be the first to volunteer?" Zack's voice was like a jolt of caffeine. I was instantly awake. Well, mostly.  
  
"Huh?" I said. I said mostly awake. "Huh" was a pretty good response for mostly awake.  
  
"You said before you would be the first to volunteer if an opportunity presented itself. Are you still willing?" My jaw dropped. Now I knew what he was talking about. He wouldn't say names if he was speaking on a cell phone and tended to dance around a subject, but I knew exactly what he was referring to.  
  
Justin had woken up and was looking at me, his expression asking me what was up. I mouthed 'Zack' and then responded, "You know I am. Where do you need me and what do I need to bring?"  
  
"Aerial support is all that's required from you," he said curtly. "Need you in Seattle." He gave me an address. Nice area, from what I remembered of Seattle and I had to wondering who Zack knew there that had a penthouse apartment in these times.  
  
"I can be there tomorrow morning," I said, thinking of all of the things I was going to have to do before I left.  
  
"Okay," he said in a way that let me know he would prefer to hear I was on my way now.  
  
"If we're going to play rough then I have to make a few adjustments to records," I said. "It's going to take me some time, but I will be there before noon tomorrow."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
Okay, Zack sounded really off. I had no idea what was the deal here, but first, he was asking for my help, and second, he was questioning me? He had no idea what it took to get a flight ready, not to mention, going to have to fake all of the logs. He knew I would know all that. What had gotten him all in a daze where he would forget the basics?  
  
"I will be there," I repeated.  
  
"Okay. Good. Later." He didn't wait for a response before hanging up. That was one of the very few times that he ever said a good-bye to me. I had to wonder if the man was drunk. He didn't sound it, but something had him way off base.  
  
I looked at Justin. "Zack has a way to get Bryn back," I said, the words seeming strange in my own head. That was something I never thought was possible, but here I was, saying the words. "He wants me to meet him in Seattle."  
  
"And you're going?" Justin questioned. "Just like that, no evidence, just going?"  
  
I blinked. "Of course I am. How could I not?"  
  
"Because he would do anything to get you out of here."  
  
I thought about that for a second and then shook my head. "I don't think so. The way he sounded...I think something must have fallen in his lap unexpectedly. He's still reacting to it."  
  
"Jhondie, even if he's found a way, you know what that means don't you?"  
  
I shivered. Yeah, I did. "I have to try," I said in a small voice. Our eyes met and I willed him to understand. "How am I supposed to live with myself if I don't at least hear him out? Even if it's impossible, I have to be able to say I did everything I could."  
  
Justin looked down for a long minute. I didn't want to leave on a bad note. I wanted him to understand that she was my responsibility. Bryn was still my sister. If there was a way to save her, then I had to take a chance.  
  
He looked up at me. "There's a lot to do if you want to be in Seattle before noon."  
  
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and then leaned over and kissed him. "You know I wouldn't take an unnecessary risk, don't you?"  
  
His hands cupped my face gently, but his eyes were deadly serious. "I want you to promise me something," he said urgently. "If you have to make a choice, then the choice is your life over hers. If you have to save a life, if you have to leave her to save yourself, then swear to me that you won't sacrifice yourself for her."  
  
My breath caught. He couldn't ask me that. It wasn't fair. But it would be the same thing I would demand from him. "I promise I will come home," I said. "I don't know about the rest, but no matter what, I am going to come home to you."  
  
He sighed. That was the best I could do and he knew it. I just couldn't say that I would leave Bryn to save my own butt. How could I do that? Justin cared about the others because I cared about them. But I would always come first. I could understand. I would much rather put myself on the line than see him risk himself. It was part of loving someone, I guessed. But no matter what, I had to go. I had to try. I was terrified, but I had to.  
  
Justin  
  
When I had told Jhondie there was a lot to be done, I wasn't joking. I knew the man that would make it a lot simpler, but I had no idea where I was going to get strawberries at this hour and Dink didn't work on credit. Jhondie had gotten up to get some things together. I thought for a second and then took a chance and dialed a cell phone number.  
  
"Whaa?" Nikki answered. Not a bad response to a phone call at 2 AM, but working for Eyes Only, she was going to learn to be coherent no matter what the hour was and no matter how little sleep you had gotten.  
  
"Need a favor," I said. "But I can't answer questions on it."  
  
"Justin?" Hey, she was doing better.  
  
"As far as I know. You awake yet?"  
  
I could hear her moving around. "Justin, it's two in the morning. I just got to bed an hour ago."  
  
"Hey, then you got all the sleep you need," I responded cheerfully. She was going to kill me tomorrow when she was awake enough to care. "I need you to do something for me. Actually, I need you to get someone to do something for me."  
  
"Now?" she whined. "I've been working non-stop for that other stuff and I have a deadline for the paper and..."  
  
"Nik," I said seriously, "I'm on a serious time crunch here. If it could wait until morning, then I would wait, but it's got to be done now."  
  
That perked her curiosity. "What's so important it's got to happen now, with no notice?" She was smart. If it had to do with the boss, then we would have had some warning it was coming.  
  
"I mentioned no questions earlier," I reminded her. She didn't say anything, waiting. "I need you to get Dink to do something for me. I don't have time to do grocery shopping right now and he's the best man I can think of for the job."  
  
She was still quiet, letting the possibilities roll over in her mind. "There's not something you're trying to scoop me on, is there?"  
  
"Nikki, you have no idea how much I'm praying this never sees the light of day," I replied honestly. "It's personal. No business, and no boss either. Just me and mine."  
  
She sighed and I could hear her moving around. She took the phone from her ear, but I could still hear. And Lord, I wished I didn't when it sounded like she was shaking someone and then said softly, "Honey, wake up. Need to get you to do something."  
  
I would have thought after Dad and Ashley, I now had a concrete stomach and could handle anything. I had suspected this. But to have it confirmed, knowing why she had been up so late, this was not doing well for keeping away nausea. Nikki's voice murmured low for a minute, and I was grateful that I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying. Finally, Dink picked up the phone.  
  
"What do you need?"  
  
"FAA hack," I replied. "I need a whole set up in their aircraft database. Tail numbers, serial numbers, transponder codes, the works. And I don't care if you want a whole fields worth of strawberries later for it, but it's got to be the best, most untraceable thing you've ever done."  
  
"Sounds important." Dink didn't tease. He normally took his pay and went on and did a remarkable job. But I got it. He wanted to know what was going on because Nikki wanted to know. And whatever Nikki had promised him; he would probably get double if he were able to get it out of me.  
  
"I'm trusting you with Jhondie's life," I said softly, seriously. "You're the only person I would with this. If you don't want to do it, let me know now so we can make other arrangements. But this has got to be perfect."  
  
Dink thought for a second. "And you need all this done by morning."  
  
"As early as possible."  
  
He sighed. "Don't worry. I can give you credit one time and one time only. I'll call you when I'm done."  
  
He hung up rather than handing the phone back to Nikki. I wasn't worried about losing my only credit opportunity with him. If he got it done right, then he could ask for anything and it was his. Jhondie's safety was the only priority. I could only pray that she would keep her promise to me. I knew she loved her sister and wanted to make her safe again, but not at that cost. Not ever.  
  
A few hours later and we were at the airport. It was early morning and Jhondie was eager to go. Dink had called and said the FAA had no longer ever heard of this plane and Jhondie and I put new numbers on the tail. Up close, it would be obvious that it was pasted over, but from a distance, you would think they were the ones painted on. Dink swore to me he had never done finer work and for his sake, he better be right. But I wished Jhondie would change her mind. I knew she wouldn't but that didn't stop me from hoping.  
  
Jhondie threw her overnight bag in the luggage compartment and did the outside pre-flight while I did the inside. I had to admit, I missed flying these last several months. Unfortunately, it takes both hands and feet to be able to operate this plane. Jhondie and I had gone up together but she was the one doing the flying. Wouldn't even let me play around while we were in the air since I couldn't use the rudders properly. She quoted FAA guidelines until I stopped bugging her.  
  
Now she was leaving without me. I wanted to go, but I had another two weeks before the last cast was off completely. It could come off now. Hell, I could come along as moral support. But Jhondie was worried that Zack would clam up and send her home and abandon the rescue plan if she didn't come alone. But she had her cell phone and swore to me she would call me and let me know what was going on as soon as she could. I knew she would call. It was her other promise to think about herself first that I was worried about.  
  
We finished the preflight and the only thing left to do was for her to get in and take off. We both paused and we both were remembering being in a similar position almost five months ago. She smiled slightly. "Promise me you won't end up in a hospital this time, okay?"  
  
I didn't laugh. "As long as you promise the same thing."  
  
Her smile faded. "If there's something wrong with the deal, then I am out of there," she said. "I promise you that. I've been thinking about what you said and maybe you're right that I shouldn't sacrifice myself for someone I haven't really known in a long time. But I still have to at least hear Zack out and see if it could work."  
  
I couldn't think of any way they would be able to get Bryn out without someone on the inside turning on Manticore, but I didn't say that. Those people knew to do so was instant death sentence. They would be too scared to help out one girl when their lives were on the line. And that's why Jhondie had to go, I think. She was better than that. She wasn't a selfish person that didn't care about other people. She was willing to put the interests of other people in front of her own. That was one thing I loved about her, but it still drove me crazy.  
  
Instead of saying any of that, I just pulled her to me and gave her a long kiss. Her arms wrapped around me, and we stood like that for a minute, neither of us wanting to be the first to let go. The kiss finally broke and our eyes met. "I love you," I said softly. "Now get out of here, get your sister and come home so we can still have time before you go back to school."  
  
A smile lit up her face and she gave me another quick kiss. "I love you," she said firmly. "And I *will* see you in a couple of days at most."  
  
"Call me when you get there," I reminded her as I started to move away from the plane.  
  
"Always do," she shot back, getting into the plane and putting on her seatbelt. It was our usual good-bye. We had gotten into this habit of never saying good-bye anymore. That sounded too final. And as she started out towards the runway, all I could think was that maybe this time, we should have. 


	15. Invincible

Jhondie  
  
I don't think I have the words to describe what the next few days were like for me. I got to Seattle, called Justin to let him know I got there safely and then went to the address that Zack had given. And once I got there, the world, as I knew it, changed forever. It was like a dream or something. Zack was in this swank penthouse, surrounded by regular people that knew what was going on. The only thing that would have been more out of character for him would be if I found out he was about to be a father. Oh wait, he was.  
  
Had the place actually been Zack's, I probably would have gone to the nearest bar and started drinking. It would have just been too weird. But it was merely just one of his safe places. It actually belonged to a guy named Logan Cale. Logan. My sister Max's boyfriend. Also, Eyes Only. But after all the shocks of that morning, it just seemed right to find out that Zack had known who Eyes Only was all this time.  
  
But first came Max. Zack told me someone else had told the other people about Manticore and glared at this dark-haired girl. The moment I saw her, I had the eeriest feeling like I knew her. She came over to us and maybe it was her eyes or her smile, I don't know, but all of a sudden I knew her. Max. At Manticore, she was my best friend. When we had run, I had planned on us sticking together. Had things been the slightest bit different, she would have been with Bryn and I in Las Vegas. She was the person I missed more than anyone else. And she was standing in front of me without the slightest warning.  
  
It was kill Zack or hug Max. I went for the hug. We were both talking, trying to catch up on ten years in ten seconds. It was funny in a way because I sounded so perfectly golden Californian against her ghetto-speak. Didn't matter and I didn't care. I had so much to tell her and if Zack thought for a second he was going to separate us again, he was going to get hurt. Of course, it was all business for him right away. He and Max told me what was going on and why they thought they would be able to get Bryn. I glanced over at the blonde studying something on the table in front of her. Were they insane?  
  
"You believe her?" I asked Max. She said she did. I asked her because I was thinking Zack might have recently had some brain damage or something. Most people wouldn't have caught it, but he had this grayish tinge around the edges of his mouth and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. Most would think he was tired. I knew him better. He had just been through an extremely bad bout of seizures within the last couple of days. Being here and acting like he was fine was an act of sheer determination for him. The fact he had Max and the X-6 and still wanted me said he wasn't sure about being able to carry the team himself. I'd kill him later, but for now, I was willing to see what the X-6 had to say. For Bryn, I was willing to at least listen.  
  
I still wanted to talk to Max though. I know, a waste of time, but I hadn't seen my sister and best friend in ten years. I think I had the right to at least tell her that I was getting married in a few months. Maybe mention being accepted into medical school and going to be a surgeon. And of course find out every detail of what she had been up to and where she was living and working. Well, she indicated with that smile that she was living in the penthouse with a very special someone named Logan. He better be special all right. I was going to have to make sure he was good enough for my baby sister.  
  
I was in such a daze. It was a good thing that we weren't ready to go right then because I probably would have flown the plane into a mountain. But the two biggest shocks were yet to come. I found out that Alicia was the X-6 that had helped save Justin. So I guessed I owed her one, though I couldn't think of a single reason why she was willing to help us now. It didn't make sense. Common decency had been trained out of them at a very young age. She mentioned the Reds in LA had been after her. Maybe Zack got her out of that and this was payback? Nah. Manticore didn't care about paying back favors. They just shot you and called it even. I wasn't sure what was going on, especially with the weird tension between her and Zack. Yeah, I was being slow, I know. But after the last hour, I was allowed a few minutes of being dense. Especially when Logan emerged from another room.  
  
It was kind of like when I saw Max for the first time. I would have sworn I knew the man. I heard Max introducing us, but I was still stuck on what it was that I recognized. It was something to do with the voice. And then there was the way he was staring at me. Not like he was trying to figure out where he knew me from as well, but more like he did know me and was stunned to see me in his apartment. Don't ask how I knew, but it hit me like lemon wedge wrapped around a brick.  
  
"Eyes," I said.  
  
He just smirked. "LA," he returned.  
  
Let's just say, it wasn't a pretty moment with me and Zack and Max at that point. Max was about to jump Logan, who was swearing he had no idea, I was going for the kill with Zack, and we were all yelling and then the X-6, Alicia, stood up. And I swear, I almost fainted right then and there. She was pregnant. Little thing that Zack had forgotten to mention there. It made more sense now why she had left. But, seriously, she was pregnant and as she stormed off to the bathroom, I glanced at Zack and once again nearly fell onto the floor.  
  
It was the way he was watching her. Possessive. And not because she was the key to getting Bryn back either. Five months ago he had come back to LA, really torn up about something and seemed okay with the fact I was getting married. Five months ago was when he had met Alicia. And now she looked about five months pregnant and he was watching her like she belonged to him and if anyone touched her, he'd kill them himself.  
  
"Zack?" I questioned. It just took the slightest nod of confirmation. "Zack!" I cried, wanting to say a lot more, but he cut me off and in typical Zack fashion, informed me that it was his business also why she could never go back. Love is all well and good, but he was putting a lot on the line that her emotions could override a lot of years of training.  
  
I glanced at Max and all she could do was shrug at the situation. Yeah, a shrug. Good call. Zack got an X-6 pregnant, excuse me, fallen for an X-6 and made a baby with her, Eyes Only was living with my sister and this was the rescue party for Bryn. "All of you are crazy," I finally said.  
  
"You going to stay or blaze?" Max asked. She had this little smirk and I think she already knew what the answer was. If she had been helping Logan with Eyes Only stuff, then she knew the type of person it took to do that. We didn't back down just because of impossible odds.  
  
I still thought about taking off. This was crazy. No doubt about it. And if Justin were here, he would kill me. But this was Zack and Max asking for my help. "I'm still in," I said firmly. "Ruining Lydecker's hopes and dreams is always a good way to spend the weekend. Least in my opinion."  
  
Now, to say we won is a bit redundant. I mean, come on. Three X-5's being supplied information by a rogue X-6 and backed by Eyes Only against the US Army? Please. Except for one little blip with discovering that Cole, Alicia's brother and second in command already had the X-7 capabilities, winning was a foregone conclusion. I'm not going to say it was easy and if I ever told Justin all of the details, he'd probably kill me for taking such a huge chance, but the point is, the three of us that went in came out, and we had Bryn with us. That was what we had gone in to do and I can't describe what an incredibly liberating feeling it was to know that I had challenged Manticore. We had made a stand together and defied them all. And we won. In a do or die situation, we stood invincible.  
  
Pretty much. I knew full well that the only reason it went as smooth as it did was that Cole didn't want us to get caught for some reason. I didn't want to admit it, but it was still true. Strange though. I couldn't understand his reasoning and by the time we were over Washington State's airspace, I didn't care anymore. Maybe telepathy caused you to go whack was Max's thoughts on the subject. God knows he did his best to throw a head-job on Alicia when he knew she was listening in. Logan let us listen to that recording and I felt so sorry for her. I could just imagine what Zack could do to me if he really wanted to, and that was someone that I hadn't lived with day in and day out since birth. Poor kid.  
  
Like I said, getting Bryn back was a foregone conclusion. Alicia still being there when we got back wasn't. Logan didn't realize how close he came to getting hurt when we got back and she was missing. I've never seen Zack that many shades of white. He had been so cute earlier. The casual person would never have seen a difference, but I knew him. He was happy to have Bryn back. It erased that feeling of failure as our leader that he had been carrying around since she had been recaptured. But he was honestly excited to see Alicia. He was in love with her. No doubt about it, he was honestly, truly in love with the girl. And she was missing. Let's just say, it wasn't a pretty scene.  
  
I was lucky that I didn't need to sleep. Max had to stay at the penthouse for Bryn, Logan was looking through surveillance cameras and police bulletins, and Zack and I hit the streets to find her. The girl had money and a grievance now. She was also carrying Zack's kid around. After spending a lot of time volunteering in a hospital, I had learned a lot about pregnant women. I had a feeling that her disappearing act was more out of being highly hormonal than not really wanting to be there, but she was X-6. You still had to be careful. Pregnancy and lethal training were not a good mix. And then there was Zack. He wasn't hormonal, but he was sick. He needed to rest and it was starting to wear on him.  
  
He was going for the seek-and-destroy method. Not the best one. If there was one thing I had learned from working with Justin, it was when to use brute force and when to switch to diplomacy. Zack and I split up for a while, covering double territory, I told him. Fine by him. He was off to break some skulls and I was off to actually find the girl. It wasn't too hard to get some leads on her once I got out on my own. You just had to know when to smile flirtatiously, who wants to see a little cleavage, which wants just a flash of green and when to use what. I've gotten in a lot of practice over the last couple of years.  
  
I would have loved to say it was easy, but trying to find someone with better training than me who didn't want to be found was damn hard. Every time I thought I was just a step behind her, she was gone. Once, I thought I caught a glimpse of her in the market area, but a truck rolled past (and I thought this only happened in movies) and when it moved, she was gone. Frustrating, to put it mildly. But I was determined. I had to find her before she let the hormones really go out of control and left Seattle. I knew how much time it took to get fake ID's done, but she could have other methods. She had money, that was for sure. I was hoping that she didn't really want to leave Zack, but was more upset about the whole situation.  
  
I met up with Zack again as night was falling. Curfew wasn't too far away and we were going to have to refine our techniques so that the sector police didn't arrest us for being out. That was the one thing I loved about LA. Technically, there were sector police there. But they mostly guarded the perimeter of the city. There were some guarded sectors, mostly where the people that were still rich lived, but the common areas were free for alls. Plus, Justin had gotten (pronounced "bribed the right people") special passes so that he and I could travel anywhere in LA at any time. Seattle was much different. Though, I must admit, it was awesome knowing that Eyes Only was watching over everything no matter where we were.  
  
Zack was looking much worse when I found him. Again, anyone else and he would have just seemed more pissed than usual. But he desperately needed some sleep. He wasn't like me and Max. We could stay awake for days with no problems. Zack couldn't. He was tough and strong, but he needed to sleep every night for a couple of hours at least. He hadn't since the day before, and that wasn't for very long. Not to mention, I was willing to bet he didn't wait for the seizures to be over and then travel. He had worn himself down but was so determined. I wondered what Lydecker would think if he knew how critically exhausted Zack was when we left Utah, but he still managed to lead us out and spend the rest of the day looking for Alicia. I wondered if knowing how strong-willed he was would make Lydecker realize that he had no chance of Zack ever letting us go completely. Giving up. Going back.  
  
We had agreed on a rendezvous spot earlier. He was already there and my heart went out to him. He was exhausted and popping some pills. I was willing to bet that I knew what they were. The fact he was taking them said a lot. The fact I came up behind him and he didn't notice said more. I knew I should have said something first, but, my mistake, I just put my hand on his shoulder.  
  
The next thing I knew, I was being slammed against a wall. My body reacted before my mind could, grabbing his arm, flipping and twisting. And then all of a sudden I, yes, I, had Zack on the ground. He looked shocked. I know I was about to fall out. That was the first and last time that I ever got the best of him. All I could do was stare for a second before helping him up.  
  
"Sorry," I muttered, not knowing what to say. "I just, uh..."  
  
He shook his head, obviously embarrassed. "Leads?" he demanded gruffly.  
  
I thought about telling him what I had learned a little bit ago, but shook my head. "Nothing concrete." He muttered a curse. "Go home and get some sleep," I said softly.  
  
Zack looked at me incredulously. "Funny, Jhondie," he snapped.  
  
"I will bring her to you before sunrise," I promised. "But if you don't get some sleep soon, you're going to pay for it."  
  
"I'm fine," he said gruffly, turning away.  
  
"No you're not," I shot back. I grabbed his arm and made him face me. "Just because I don't yet have the MD behind my name doesn't mean I can't look at you and see what's been going on. You've managed to tough out two days of fighting seizures and Manticore, not to mention one huge psychological shock. You want the tough guy award? You win it. I couldn't have done what you have the last few days. But I know you. You're body is so close to shut down, it's not funny."  
  
He went to say something, but I overrode him. "Your lips are gray and eyes bloodshot," I said rapidly, listing things out. "Pulse is all over the place, high and thready and then slow and sluggish. Skin color is not right, stress lines in the corners of mouth and eyes." I took a breath. "It is the duty of a second in command to know when her commanding officer is unfit for duty and assume leadership of an operation. Speaking as a doctor, you are not well. And it is my duty to take control of this mission."  
  
I thought for a second he was going to kill me. Seriously. It was the first time I had ever tried to take the leadership role from him. "First time I've ever heard you say the word duty," Zack said bitterly.  
  
I shrugged. "I've never needed to with you. You're our strength. But I am asking you, just this once, please, let me help you. If you were well, I would never have been able to get the drop on you. But you're not at full capacity. And I think you know, of all people in the world, that I can understand how you feel about that girl. I'll take first shift for searching and wake you up to take the next one."  
  
He looked down. I knew this was hard on him. I could imagine him telling me to go home and he would look for Justin. I wouldn't want to do it either. But he had been through hell. His poor body couldn't take much more without some sleep to help heal it. You could only be tough for so long. "Four hours," he said softly. I blinked. "If you don't call me in four hours and wake me up, then we will have a problem."  
  
I gave silent thanks for him actually being reasonable for once. Zack told me where he would be staying and trudged off. Poor guy. He didn't want to seem weak. And he wasn't. What he was fighting through was amazing. I have one bad round of seizures, and I'm down for the day. He has them and runs off to attack Manticore. If that didn't explain a lot about Zack right there, then nothing would.  
  
Still, I only had four hours. I went back to work, checking in with Logan occasionally. Bryn was awake and had been able to eat, though she wanted Max with her. Max had gotten her away from the other guy when they realized she was getting sick and only Manticore could save her. She trusted Max. She probably would rather have Zack, but Max would do.  
  
It was full dark when I got my lucky break. Someone knew someone's cousin that knew something. Twenty bucks brought back some memory. Psycho chick was in the park. This guy's best friend's girlfriend used to date this other guy who got killed by this chick and the chick was back in her territory. Fifty bucks and the story became clear. I knew where Alicia was. I high-tailed it to the park and there she was, sitting on a bench, looking abjectly miserable.  
  
I scared the hell out of her when I came up on her, but we were able to have a good little talk. I told her a little about my life and I think she realized then it was possible to have a life, even one where you were hiding from Manticore. A good life. With family, friends, birthday parties and hunting Easter eggs. She listened, but I couldn't tell if she was convinced or not. The best I got out of her was an agreement to see Zack and talk to him. We went to the hotel where he was staying and I dropped her off before heading back to Max and Logan's place.  
  
Their reaction was not quite what I hoped.  
  
"You did what?" Max yelled when I told them where we stood. Her dark eyes were wide. "She probably cut and run the minute you turned the corner."  
  
I shook my head. "No, she was going to see him." We were in the kitchen and Logan was doing something that smelled divine over the stove. I had checked Bryn, still sleeping, and then told Max and Logan what had happened. "She wanted to come back to see him, but I kind of had a feeling there was some bad blood with you guys from earlier and she didn't want to deal with you all."  
  
Logan snorted. "That's one way of putting it."  
  
"All I'm saying," Max continued, "is that she is seriously trippin as of late. She's got half of Manticore looking for her and Zack is not exactly the reassuring type."  
  
"For you," I said. "But he is for her. I don't get it either, trust me, but I saw Zack five months ago when she had left him. I've seen Zack hurt, sick and upset before. I never saw him devastated like that."  
  
"Point is," Max said, taking some dishes out of a cabinet, "he won't do everything possible to make her stay. You and me he'd kick ass in a second to put us in line." I grimaced in painful memory. She put the dishes down on the counter. "He'd let her go."  
  
"If he does," I replied, "then he sure as hell doesn't deserve to keep her." I glanced at Logan. "Would you let Max go without a fight? Let her and your unborn child out the door?"  
  
Logan looked at Max and his glance said it all. "I know Max," he said. "I don't know if Zack knows Alicia well enough to convince her. She's got a dangerous temper and it doesn't take much to set her off."  
  
I smirked. Max had filled me in on the details of what had happened in Seattle five months ago while we were flying back. "First hand experience sucks, huh?"  
  
Before he could answer, the front door opened. A pretty black girl walked inside rather grandly, her lips turned up in what appeared to be a permanent smirk at the world. "Okay," she said to Max before anyone could greet her. "Normal says if you not out of bed from the flu by tomorrow morning, he's canning your ass, mine, and maybe Sketchy's too just because and he don't care how many freaky CIA cousins you got stashed." She held up her hands in a stopping gesture. "Don't be all over me. I'm just the messenger, remember? Thank you for using Jam Pony."  
  
She finally looked at me, her gaze taking me in from head to toe. Oh boy. That was the way Kat liked to look at me when she didn't think I noticed. Her eyebrows rose in a look of definite interest. Oddly enough, there was something really familiar about her. I had no idea what it was, but I would have sworn that I knew her from somewhere.  
  
"Jhondie," Max said, "This is my best friend, Original Cindy. Cindy, my long-lost sister, Jhondie."  
  
Original Cindy shook her head in mock dismay. "Damn," she muttered. "Boo brings in the fine-ass white girls and Original Cindy has a policy of not playing with your peep's sibs."  
  
I held up my hand with my engagement ring on it. "Kind of spoken for anyway," I said. I glanced over at Max. "She knows about our...family?"  
  
"Boo already explained about the barcode club," Cindy said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's cool." She swung that smirk back at Max. "So what were you doing making me have to tell Normal you couldn't come in. He is one strange, bitter little man when he thinks he short-staffed."  
  
Max filled her in on the details while Logan finished up what he was cooking. My mouth was watering. There was lime in there somewhere. Oh yes. Fresh lime. Apparently Cindy knew who Alicia was because when Max said she was pregnant, Cindy burst into laughter.  
  
"Told you," she said. "Just because Original Cindy plays for the all girl team does not mean she can't tell what's going on in the hetero world."  
  
Max rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you and dippy over there. True love, blah blah."  
  
"You know, this could end up in the disposal," Logan said in mock seriousness, indicating the food.  
  
Max's eyes immediately went innocent. "You're different, baby," she said. "Besides, we're talking Zack here. And come on, a kinder, gentler Zack? Not happening."  
  
I laughed. "Kinder, gentler Zack? Please. We're only his sisters and you know how protective he is. Can you imagine him with a kid he made?"  
  
Original Cindy's jaw dropped. "We talking Sam-boy knockin' boots and making babies?" she asked Max. Max nodded. "He the one all up yours about makin a little time with your boy and he's out spreading the seed?"  
  
I couldn't help but laugh at that. I could see why Max and Cindy were friends. I could also see where Max had picked up a lot of her speech patterns. The timer on my watch went off and I grinned, grabbing my phone.  
  
"Got a date?" Max asked.  
  
I smirked. "Hey, the great and almighty CO ordered me to call him in four hours. I'd hate for him to think I wasn't up to my duties."  
  
Max smirked as I dialed. The phone rang three times and then Zack picked up quickly. "What?" he barked. I was trying to fight back laughter. Zack answered on the first ring. That was a given. All of my questions were answered right then and there, but dropping it just wouldn't be fun.  
  
"It's been four hours," I said sweetly. There was a pause. "You did tell me to call you in four hours, remember?"  
  
"Yeah," he responded. "Is every..." his words trailed off with a slight gasping intake of breath. I had to bite my lip to keep from howling with laughter. Now he understood why I was so pissy the couple of times that he had interrupted Justin and me.  
  
"Got the packages settled," I said cheerfully. "We're about to have some dinner if you're hungry. Our friend made this stuff with shrimp and pasta. Don't know who he had to kill to get the shrimp, but it smells divine."  
  
I could hear him gritting his teeth lightly. He couldn't tell Alicia to stop whatever it was she was doing and I was being a little chatterbox. "No," he managed to get out.  
  
"Is everything okay on your end?" I asked with such syrupy innocence that Max made a gagging expression.  
  
Zack finally realized that I knew Alicia was there and he was having a very nice night without us. "I'll call tomorrow," he snapped, hanging up.  
  
I almost fell off the stool, laughing. I swear, if I didn't have the grace and coordination I was blessed with, I would have been in the fetal position on the floor. "Alicia's definitely there," I managed to say. "And I don't think we're going to see him before tomorrow."  
  
The others laughed, but I don't think they thought it was as amusing as I did. I guess Logan had never been tossed off of Max before while they were enjoying a little time together. I wasn't about to go that far with Zack and Alicia, but if he thought he wasn't going to get some serious teasing out of this, he was sadly mistaken.  
  
Logan was making a salad (brilliant underground cyber-journalist and he could cook, I wondered if Max would mind trading every now and then) and I took that time to go into the living room and call Justin. I had wanted to call him earlier; I knew he was going to be sick with worry, but there just wasn't time. And I had to admit, I was kind of surprised to realize that calling him and letting him know I was okay was more important than food.  
  
He answered before the first ring was even through. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey baby."  
  
His relief was evident. "Jhondie...how's it going?" Yeah, these phones were supposedly only traceable by God himself, but Justin wasn't going to risk it by saying something that would be of interest to certain parties.  
  
"Well, just finished up the bulk of the business and things are great," I replied.  
  
"Great?"  
  
"Absolutely...better than I could have hoped kind of great."  
  
There was a pause and I had a feeling he was saying a small prayer of thanks. "So you're on your way home?"  
  
"Um, actually, I think I'm going to stay a couple of days," I said.  
  
"I can be there tomorrow."  
  
I thought about that. I would have loved to have him fly up here just to meet Logan. But I wanted a couple of days to get to know Max and Bryn again. Maybe even get to know Alicia a little. She was going to give birth to my nephew after all. "No, I think I need to finish up by myself."  
  
A note of warning entered his voice. "What happened to great?"  
  
"No, it's not that," I quickly reassured him. "It's just...I don't know how to begin to describe it. I just want the time to get reacquainted with a couple of old friends."  
  
His silence said volumes as he realized what I was saying. "That is great, sweetheart."  
  
"Dream come true kind of great."  
  
I could hear the smile in his voice. "I know. You sure you're only going to need a couple of days?"  
  
"Well, we've agreed that we're not getting out of touch again, so it's good."  
  
From the dining room, I could hear Max yelling at me that dinner was ready. "Hey, dinner's on the table, so..."  
  
He laughed. "Food wins over your fiancée, I know. Call me later."  
  
"I will," I promised, grinning. Oh, I couldn't wait to get home. I was just going to be full of surprises when Justin and I could really talk.  
  
I hung up and went to eat with the others. And let me say, the food was as good as it looked. I had no idea how Logan had managed to get everything and put it together like this, but I wasn't going to complain. I wasn't a bad cook myself, but this blew me out of the water. It was even better than the cooking that Kat did and Justin claimed as his own when I was out late studying. The shrimp was fresh, seasoned with citrus juices, and the cream sauce was phenomenal. Plus, it was obvious that Logan was used to cooking for a transgenic because he had made far more than one man and three slim girls should be able to eat.  
  
Original Cindy had found out about Logan being Eyes Only a few months before, so we were free to talk about everything as we ate. The irony of Max helping Logan the way I helped Justin was too funny. Justin had said more than once that if Eyes Only knew about me, he would want me in Seattle working for him personally. I think he wouldn't have been able to handle it if he had both me and Max there all of the time. Still, I got a few questions answered. Logan was the one in that tape Steiner had sent to Justin. He had been shot and then a blood transfusion from Max gave him the stem cells needed to repair the spinal damage. Wrong thing to say to a future doctor. In fifteen minutes he was so dazed from my questions that he had to get up and find some more wine. Max thought it was hilarious.  
  
Logan told me he had been a little worried when his LA guy brought in a new partner. He wondered if we had broken up or something. Not that it would have been his business, but he knew what relationship troubles could do to his work. He had given Max a rather pointed look and she responded with a kick under the table. I told him that between graduating college, planning a wedding, and starting medical school, I didn't have the time that I used to. I loved helping Justin, and had promised that I would still be there if muscle was needed, but Nikki had a flair and desire that I was lacking.  
  
Max shook her head. "This is just totally whack. All along I've been hunting for you guys and you been the ones making him say 'Just fifteen more minutes. I'm waiting for my LA people to finish the transmission.'"  
  
I looked at her curiously. "Why were you looking? You knew Zack has us all taken care of."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "No, Mr. Man knew he had us tight. And that was a need to know situation. Until last year, apparently, I didn't need to know. I end up with Lydecker hot on my ass because I'm wondering if I'm the only one that made it out and looking for the rest of you."  
  
My eyes narrowed. How many of the others had he not made contact with? Damn him. I would have called him right then to cuss him out, but he was probably in too good of a mood to care. "Do you know about any of the others?" I asked. "Were they out looking too?"  
  
Max looked down, her face drawn. "Just Ben."  
  
"What happened to Ben?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know or not.  
  
"He's dead," a small voice said from the hall. We all looked over to see Bryn. She was wearing this long nightshirt with her hair hanging limply down around her shoulders. Her face was still lined with the stress of her ordeal. I could see the strength and vitality that had been there but now she looked as fragile and vulnerable as a small girl.  
  
"They told me he was killed," she said. "How if we stayed out we would die, but in there they would protect us. Make us better. Keep us safe. He was broken, like me. I went back, so I was fixed. He stayed out, so he died."  
  
She was shaking, tears falling down her cheeks. "I didn't want to die," she whispered. "I was so scared. I didn't know what to do."  
  
I was across the room in a second, pulling her into my arms. "You survived," I said firmly. "Your orders were to survive until we could come for you. You did good, baby sister." Max was there, helping me hold Bryn up. I think there's something of cat in there that we like to touch for comfort. It's extremely comforting to feel those small touches on your hair or face from someone that you care about.  
  
Bryn turned her tearstained face to me. "I tried to wait for you," she said. "But they were all over the place and got close, so I ran. I ran and I was too scared to go back. So I ran and ran and I didn't know how to leave you a trail that they couldn't see."  
  
"It's okay," I whispered. "I found you, right? I told you I would. Doesn't matter when. We said we would meet. Me, you and Max. We made it out. That's all the counts."  
  
Max's arms were wrapped around me and Bryn and our little circle tightened. The wounds were way too old to be this raw and hurtful. But they could heal. There was hope now. A new life for all of us. Hope. 


	16. Wrap Up

Jhondie  
  
It's a good thing Max and I don't sleep. Bryn was up until very late that night (or really early in the morning, depending on your perspective) telling us about her ordeal. Logan and Cindy had graciously left us alone so we could talk. All three of us were crying at various points. But one thing was for sure. Lydecker had totally underestimated how strong-willed we were. Max filled us in on what happened to Alicia and we could see the point where Director Renfro had decided to take over on Bryn. I tell you, if I ever ran into that bitch, she was going to have her head twisted until it popped off of her head.  
  
Max also told us the full story on what happened to Ben. I was shocked, and I had to admit, a little sickened, but I understood the choice she had been forced to make. What happened to Bryn was bad enough, but what they would have done to Ben would have been unspeakable. I guess it stood to reason that at least one of us wouldn't have been able to handle life on the outside. Statistics say that people abused as children are likely to be abusive, and with us it was a whole different level.  
  
It was hard, but we got out all of the bad stuff and then some of the good stories could flow. It was like lancing a boil, and then putting soothing lotion on the raw skin. Bryn told us about how she liked to paint. She was pretty good with watercolors. She had a friend that had this little bakery. She did gift baskets for people and sometimes there were some of Bryn's small paintings in there. One woman had even asked her to do a portrait of her daughter. Bryn had been walking back to her apartment after delivering it when she got into trouble. Poor thing had taken off running with only the backpack she had been carrying. Max was rather annoyed with Zack to learn that she had searched so hard and there was Bryn a few hours away from Seattle for over a year.  
  
But there were good stories too. Max had us all rolling with her stories about being a bike messenger for Jam Pony. I had to meet this guy Normal. Sounded like a riot. I told them about my family and dealing with Kayla. And if Zack thought he had it rough, imagine me having to deal with my sister's best friend doing everything she could to initiate me into lesbian love. For some reason Max thought that was hysterical. Said we needed to introduce Kat to Original Cindy. Yeah, I could just see that happening.  
  
We talked until the sun was up and Max had to leave for work. I would have wondered why she was still holding down such a crummy job, but now that we had gotten to know each other again, I could see how independent she was. Had always been, really. It was just more evident now. I guess Justin and I had been together so long and had been a part of each other's lives that I didn't think in terms of his and mine. It was all ours. Except for underwear. I come home and he's in my panties, and we're going to have problems. But Max and Logan hadn't been together all that long. He was not going to be her sugar daddy. But she liked knowing she could now torment Normal and the consequences wouldn't be that dire.  
  
We sent Bryn back to bed. She needed to sleep and rest to recover. Physically, she was going to be fine. Emotionally, that was hard to tell. Having a miscarriage could not have been easy on her, despite the conception process. It was going to take some time, but we were here for her now. She was never going to be alone in this and if Zack tried anything, I was going to slap the crap out of him. Bryn needed to feel safe right now, and having us all here helped her in that. He wasn't going to like it, but I did have a lot more experience with healing people than he did. Like I said, you spend enough time in hospitals, you really do pick up on things.  
  
Logan had gotten up and went into the kitchen while Max and I made sure Bryn was back in bed. She was out in a few minutes, despite the smell of coffee that was starting to drift through the whole apartment. Max only had time to grab a cup on her way out, but the way she rushed seemed like their usual morning routine. I grabbed a cup and picked up the morning paper to see if there was anything of interest in there. There wasn't. After working for Eyes Only, you really got a feel for what was a real story and what was so sanitized there was nothing left but a kernel of truth.  
  
"How's Bryn?" Logan asked.  
  
I put down the paper. "Better, I think. It's going to take some time."  
  
"I can imagine."  
  
There was an awkward silence. "You know," I said, "As much as I, of all people, can understand the need for secrecy, I'm going to have to tell Justin that I met you."  
  
"Does Nikki know about you?" His blue eyes were riveted onto me. I always knew he had a rather piercing stare through the video, but live, it was like he was taking inventory of your soul.  
  
"No," I answered. "Justin wouldn't even consider publishing an article about Manticore anywhere because he knows what it would do to me. Nikki would never left sentiment get in the way of the truth."  
  
"Sounds like a hell of a journalist."  
  
"She is," I said. It was the truth. She really was incredible. "But sometimes you have to temper truth with compassion. But she's new to the Eyes Only thing. She'll figure that out for herself eventually." I smiled. "Let me guess, knowing about me is a litmus test for knowing about you." He gave me a slight smile. "So your secret is more important than mine. Ego much?"  
  
That actually got a real laugh. "Priorities, my dear LAX. Never ego."  
  
He and I finally relaxed and started talking. He was very curious to know exactly what Justin was doing in Seattle a year ago and I got to know why he had asked us to get some of the things he did. Turns out Mr. Gerhardt Bronck had been running some nasty operations all up the west coast. The information concerning shoddy construction that we had gotten our first Thanksgiving was only the tip of the iceberg. After the white-slavery ring had been exposed, the man was finally sent to jail. He thought he was going to be sent to some white-collar place where he could bribe his way into confined luxury. He was in the courthouse jail cell, waiting for a two-minute hearing before going back to his private luxury cell, when another inmate stabbed him to death. The guy's daughter had been one of the girls kidnapped. Irony was a strange form of justice sometime.  
  
Logan showed me his set-up. Pretty sweet. Put Justin's to shame. Granted, Logan had a wider audience to reach, but I had a feeling once Justin saw this, he was going to have journalist-envy and have to get a set just like it. Boys. If they weren't so cute, it would be annoying. We hung out until Max came back, claiming she was taking an early lunch. She groaned when she saw us in the computer room.  
  
"Don't even think you're going to be spending your whole time in here," she declared, hands on her hips. "We got way too much to do and way too little time."  
  
"Speaking of time," I said, checking my watch with an exaggerated motion, "what do you say it's time to wake up our dear big brother? Got enough time left?"  
  
She grinned. "For that, always enough time."  
  
Max left her bike at the penthouse and we took a cruise on her baby. The last time I had been on a motorcycle was when I was fifteen and the boy I was dating had a little one. That was nothing compared to the beast Max flew around Seattle on. If I didn't know how skilled she was, I would have been terrified. Once I got over praying that we would live, I relaxed and enjoyed the rush. No wonder Kat wanted one of these. It was like flying without the plane.  
  
Logan had a keycard to the hotel room. We thought about calling ahead, but Zack had made it clear he would call me first. Fine by me. Max and I slipped into the room quietly, listening for any noises. I had walked in on enough people having sex recently. I didn't need another experience.  
  
It was quiet. Thank God. The bedroom door was open and we slid over to it, peeping around the doorjamb. We both surveyed the scene and then looked at each other with an "awwww" expression. Talk about cute. I don't think I had ever seen Zack that peaceful before. Alicia was laying on her right side and Zack was spooned up against her (a blanket was over them, thank God) his arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her as close as he could.  
  
And then I noticed something odd. I pointed and Max noticed it as well. Okay. What the hell? Both of their left hands were visible and they were wearing rings on the third finger. The only time I ever saw Zack wear jewelry before was that surfer-necklace thing that Max had told me was originally Alicia's. Now a ring. No, a ring that matched Alicia's on a finger that held extreme significance. I knew one thing they had been up to the night before. This, however, was totally unexpected.  
  
"Is Bryn okay?" Zack suddenly asked, making Max and I jump. He hadn't changed position in the least and his eyes looked closed. But this was Zack, so I had no doubt he knew who was in this room and what to do about it.  
  
"She's cool," Max answered. "We were doing the rounds but looks like you already got your hands full."  
  
"Go check on Bryn," Alicia said. Okay, this was getting creepy. Neither of them had moved. You would swear they were both still asleep. And Alicia didn't even sound like she had just been woken up. Perfectly clear and like she had been awake for hours. "I'll meet you over there later."  
  
"You're not walking around by yourself." Now that was the Zack I knew. There was no allowance for argument in that voice.  
  
But it did get a reaction from Alicia. Her eyes opened and she turned her head towards him. "Zack, dear, it's pregnant, not helpless. If Bailey and his brother weren't already dead, they would be able to tell you exactly how I'm still more than capable of fucking up anyone that pisses me off."  
  
Max was biting back laugher and I had my teeth in my lip to do the same. Oh, Zack had hooked up with his match that was for sure. It still remained to be seen if they could keep from killing each other. "I can stay," I spoke up before this argument escalated. Not that it wouldn't be funny, but if either of them jumped up for emphasis, I would be seeing more than I wanted to.  
  
That got their attention. "Zack, Max has got to get back soon, but I can stay here with Alicia and keep her company on the way over to Logan's." Now if that wasn't diplomatic, I didn't know what was.  
  
Zack hesitated for a second. Alicia turned around so she was facing him. I swear, his whole face softened when their eyes met. That was the first time I had ever seen him so...happy is the only word that fits. It's weak, but the only time I had seen a similar expression before was on Justin when him and I were snuggling.  
  
"I will be there in a little while," she said softly. Ah. He was still worried she might take off. She had known that. Someone getting close to Zack to really know him. Now that was a concept I had never thought possible. He nodded and then leaned over to give her a kiss.  
  
"Hey!" Max said, wrinkling her nose. "Least let us close the door before we have to hose you down." Zack didn't say anything, but shot her a dark look. It would have been intimidating but for the blush that infused his cheeks.  
  
We shut the door to give them some privacy and Max practically fell on the small couch. "Now I know I've seen everything."  
  
I shook my head. "Zack wearing a wedding band. That was on my top ten list of things I'm never going to see in this lifetime."  
  
"Can you imagine when mini-Zack is running around?"  
  
That was all the conversation we managed before Zack came out, fully dressed. He even had shoes on and hair brushed. That's not fair. Nobody should be able to get dressed in under three minutes. "Let's go," he said gruffly to Max and then looked at me. I've gotten some strong looks from him before, but none of them had come close to the intensity on his face right then. "Be very careful with her," he ordered.  
  
I could only nod. Sure, Alicia could take care of herself, but you were never going to convince Zack of that. It took a hell of a lot of trust in me to leave her like this. Later, I would laugh thinking about the first time she decided to get some groceries on her own, but right then all I could do was nod gravely.  
  
He and Max left and I knocked lightly on the bedroom door. "It's open," Alicia said.  
  
I walked in. She was sitting on the side of the bed, wrapped up in the blanket, looking at the clothes she had been wearing the day before. She sniffed them tentatively and scrunched her nose. "Forgot to call laundry service last night, huh?" I joked.  
  
"I had better things to do with my time," she replied. She glanced over her shoulder, a smirk on her lips. "As you know from your well-timed call."  
  
I grinned. "That was pure revenge." Her smirk melted into a real smile. I thought for a second. "What size do you wear?"  
  
"Before or now?"  
  
"Now." She gave me what she thought it was. It was hard for her to judge right now and she hadn't been able to shop for real clothes recently. I grabbed the phone and dialed room service. "I need some clothes delivered to my room," I said, picking up a bored tone.  
  
Alicia perked up a little. "Maternity, in the small to medium range, but petite sized," I continued. "Slacks, blouses, everything else. A bit of variety in style. We'll have someone pick up what isn't wanted." I got Alicia's shoe size and gave it to the operator. The girl said it would take an hour and then hung up.  
  
I smiled at Alicia. "And that's the plus to staying at a good hotel. I learned that staying in a few very nice ones with Justin. If you can afford to stay there, then room service will get you anything."  
  
"I rarely stay in them," she said. "Broken in to quite a few, but its kind of hard to keep your cover when you're registered."  
  
I could see that. And I had to admit, I was curious about what Alicia had done. Was it all assassinations? Had she done other things for Manticore? I thought about asking, but chickened out. She had been through some rough times the last few days. No need in hashing up the past, right? "It's going to take an hour if you want to rest or take a shower or whatever."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
I went back into the living room and turned on the TV when I heard the water in the bath running. Alicia was certainly an interesting addition to my crazy family. And a kid. Poor thing. He was going to have all these aunts and uncles after him, not to mention two people that I would be terrified to have as my parents. No, I would stick with what I had.  
  
I thought about that. Family. My family. It had been pretty rough the last few months with Mom. But it was wrong. Totally wrong on their part, and they knew it. That's why they had been hiding it. Of course. So I was in the right, right? Maybe. She had been happier since they had gotten together. I had noticed that, but not put it together. They had been spending more time together and she was just happier in general. I had worked my tail off to get Zack and Alicia back together, two people that really should not be together, and I was doing whatever I could to keep Mom and Tom apart. That didn't seem to go together.  
  
I didn't realize how long I had been sitting there thinking, when there was a knock at the door. Zack would have been proud. I actually used the peephole. A bellboy was standing there with a small rack of clothing. This is why I loved good hotels. What they wouldn't provide, you didn't need. What can I say, Justin had spoiled me. I gave the guy a good tip and told him we would call when we were done.  
  
Alicia had been enjoying a good long soak in the tub, but wrapped herself up in a towel and came out to inspect the clothes. I swear, Kat would have fallen in love. Alicia was so small and dainty it made her seem more like a living doll than a person. In the towel, with the moisture making her honey-blonde hair curl around her face and those big blue eyes, she could have passed for sixteen. I wondered if that was why she was so good at what she did. Nobody would have suspected her to be any more dangerous than cotton candy and daisies.  
  
Alicia found something she could wear and got dressed quickly. They even provided matching shoes. She looked positively adorable in slacks with a tunic-style top. In another month or two, people would want to rub her tummy. While Alicia had been in the bathroom, I had thought of something and wanted to ask her about it. Her designation number was 608. When I had been in Boston for Denise's wedding, the designation number of the X-6 that those two guys had been talking about was 608. Small world, huh?  
  
"Hey, do you remember a Senator Martin?"  
  
Those blue eyes turned on me and any thought of adorable went out the nearest window. Those were the cold blue eyes of endless winter. And that was the expression someone wore when they were about to take a life and not think twice about it. Intellectually, I knew I was strong than her. Faster too. And with her being pregnant, it wouldn't be a problem at all for me to take her on. But I was still stepping back from that icy look and in that moment I knew exactly how such a small girl could manage to be the leader of the X-6.  
  
"And how would you know him?" she asked in measured tones.  
  
"I, uh, well, broke his step-daughter's ankle and wrist at her wedding." Amusement broke up that chill and I was no longer quite so afraid for my life. "Long story about that. Point is, I had heard him and this other guy talking about the X-6 and some stuff that had happened in Washington. They mentioned a 608 being involved."  
  
Her face went utterly neutral. "Really? And what was their opinion on it?" A casual observer would think she was just making polite conversation. I had a feeling there was an explosion of temper that she was barely holding in check.  
  
"You pissed them both off royally," I said. She seemed pleased by that. "Completely screwed up their plans." I didn't want to say how I had been rooting for them to find a way to succeed. "Morons, though. They were talking like we weren't able to be part of the human race and act like regular people. I swear, if the guy had referred to the X-series as "its" one more time, I was about to go in there and kick some a$$.  
  
She looked almost sad for a moment. "Had you taken care of them then, I would never have ended up in LA five months ago. I'm not sure if I should thank you for your decision or deck you." I thought she was going to say something else, but instead she went back into the bathroom to brush her teeth.  
  
I didn't get it. She seemed kind of upset that she wasn't part of Manticore anymore. Shouldn't she be celebrating the fact that she escaped? Yeah, I was scared of the world when I got out, but I was a kid. She was an adult. She hadn't been stuck in barracks, but had been out and around. How could she not be thrilled? And she wasn't alone either. Just permanently separated from all of the people she had known and cared for since birth. Okay. Yeah, that would suck. And she had chosen the separation too. We had done it as a group. I wasn't alone among the X-5. She was among the X-6.  
  
Alicia wasn't a chatty kind of person, so there wasn't much talking on the way back to Logan's. I wanted to get a cab, but Alicia had refused that. Said she had spent the last several months down and enjoyed getting out. And once again she surprised me at a sector checkpoint by pulling out an all-access sector pass. I had one provided by Logan, but Alicia seemed to be quite resourceful on her own.  
  
I did ask her about the rings. She just looked at me like I was dense. "They're wedding bands," she said simply.  
  
"So, you two ran out and found someone to marry you last night?" In Las Vegas, I could see that. Here, not going to happen.  
  
She sighed. "Legalities aren't meant for our kind."  
  
"Yeah, but there's a license and stuff involved for it to be official."  
  
Alicia smirked. "Yes, and I can imagine us trying to apply for one of those. What social security number? Well, we're rogue genetic experiments, so we weren't given one. Will barcode numbers do?" She shook her head slightly. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that truth is what I say it is. And I say, Zack and I are married. We committed to each other and our child. What else is there?"  
  
I could have argued that the piece of paper really does mean something. Justin and I were living together, but I would feel odd calling him my husband now. But then again Mom and Dad didn't legally adopt me either. I just started to use their last name and say I was their kid and they never said differently. Legalities did matter though. Just not all of the time I supposed.  
  
We got to Logan's place and pretty much just hung out the rest of the day. Zack and Alicia talked about where she was going to stay. He said he was going to take care of Bryn and then come back and make sure she was somewhere safe. That earned him a rather murderous look and Logan and I had to leave the room before we got killed for laughing at them. Alicia was flat out telling him that he was not her lord and master and if he even thought that she was going to get locked into some tower, he was sadly mistaken. It was the first time I had ever heard Zack backpedaling and it was nothing short of hysterical.  
  
I talked to Justin and let him know I was going to come home the next day. I wanted to hang out here a while longer, but I had been thinking a lot about family and decided that it was time I got my own straightened out. Besides, I had no doubt that Max and I would remain in contact. Zack must have figured on that when he brought me up here. He could complain, but I wasn't going to pretend that none of this had happened.  
  
Max came home that evening and we all had dinner together. Bryn was up and looking better. Zack had talked to her earlier in her room. I had walked by and caught part of their conversation. I wouldn't have listened in, but Bryn started crying. If Zack had pulled his CO crap on her while she was still so emotionally fragile, I was going to hurt him. "You know where Jasmine is?" she was saying.  
  
Zack smiled at her and smoothed down her hair. "I told you we would get you back," he said. "The people taking care of her knew it wasn't forever."  
  
I stiffened. Did Bryn have a kid? Oh my God, why had he kept this from us? He should have brought her to me. He knew I had the means to take care of a kid and keep her safe. I almost barged in there when he added, "but she's not a puppy anymore. Weighs fifty pounds and eats like a horse."  
  
Bryn laughed weakly. Okay, a fifty-pound dog, no, good call not bringing it to me. Dogs didn't like me. "She probably doesn't remember me," Bryn said sadly.  
  
"She'll have years to get to know you again," Zack replied. She sat up and hugged him. I thought about staying and listening in, but that would have been rude. Instead I went back into the living room and hung out with Max. She knew I was leaving tomorrow and wanted to take Zack and me somewhere.  
  
Zack finally came out and we were off again. This time Max took us to the Space Needle. It had been closed for years, but that hadn't deterred Max any. We went right to the top and then crawled out one of the broken windows. When we got there, all three of us went dead silent. This was her high place. The city, which was so dirty and corrupt on the streets, was beautiful up here, all dark shapes with warm glowing lights.  
  
We sat down and admired the view for a while. "When I first got here," Max said softly, "I used to come up here and imagine what it would be like to have all of you guys with me. I'd make up what you were doing and where you had been." She smiled. "I had Jhondie pegged as a fashion designer though."  
  
I smiled. "Hey, I live in Los Angeles. That's not a bad bet to make."  
  
"I think about it too," Zack spoke up. He didn't take his eyes off of the skyline. "What it would be like if it was safe for us all to be together."  
  
I patted his leg. "Hope's the thing that keeps us alive," I reminded him. "You think Bryn would have lasted without it. Hope and faith. It's what got us out the first time."  
  
"And Eva," Max added. She toasted an imaginary glass into the air. "To hope, faith and Eva for giving us the last eleven years."  
  
What the hell, I hoisted my own imaginary glass. "Salute."  
  
Zack smiled slightly like we were nuts. Okay, so maybe we were. But after the last couple of days, we deserved it. Max's phone rang and she sighed, showing her annoyance when she checked the number. "Logan," she said, getting up and walking away to answer him. I smiled. Guess she was used to needing privacy when talking to Logan. Discussing things like breaking into police headquarters was not a good thing to do in public.  
  
"Never thought you would be married before me," I said when Zack and I were alone. "Not to mention have a kid. You two picked out a name yet?"  
  
"Not yet," he replied. "We're still...debating."  
  
I grinned, imagining them two trying to argue the other one down. "You're happy," I said. "You really do get it now."  
  
He thought for a long moment and then nodded. "Let the wounds heal, keep the scars, right?"  
  
"Right," I smiled. I hesitated for a minute, feeling nervous now. I had been thinking about this and wanting to ask him a question, but I wasn't sure exactly how to say it. I didn't want him to get mad but I wanted him to at least know that I would like this.  
  
I took a deep breath. "Zack, I've been thinking about something," I began. He eyed me warily. "And if you don't want to, that's okay. I totally understand. But...when I get married, it's traditional to have someone give the bride away and I always thought my dad would do it, but since he can't I was wondering if you would think about doing it." I got all of that out in one breath.  
  
"And yeah, I know it might look funny, but trust me, I can come up with a million believable cover stories about you being a cousin from Georgia or something and...and you think I'm crazy, don't you."  
  
He had looked away from me, his expression slightly bemused. "Yes."  
  
"It's okay," I said, feeling disappointed, even though I had told myself that there was no way he would do it. "You probably have no idea where you're going to be anyway and..."  
  
"Jhondie," Zack said, cutting me off. "I said yes."  
  
My eyes got huge. "Even if it means wearing a tux and getting pictures taken?"  
  
"I can do the tux, we'll discuss the pictures later."  
  
I couldn't help myself. I leaned over and gave him a hug. "This means so much to me."  
  
"I know."  
  
Max came back over and looked at us with one eyebrow raised. "So when did the love-fest start?"  
  
"Zack said yes," I grinned. She knew what I had wanted to ask and told me she thought there was no way he would ever agree, though she was happy to be a bridesmaid. I would have had her as my maid-of-honor, but she would have had to fight Kayla over that one.  
  
She smirked at Zack. "'Bout time you decided to be a real big brother." She indicated the phone. "Logan's got some puppy or orphan or something in need of a rescue, so I need to blaze. Want a ride back?"  
  
We got up and headed out with her. Tomorrow I would be going home and I couldn't help but feel like I had turned some brave new corner in my life. Everything was different now, but the important things, who I loved and who loved me, those were still the same. 


	17. Coming Home

Justin  
  
The definition of relief? Getting a phone call from Jhondie saying she was going to be leaving and would I mind picking her up. Yeah, yeah, we had talked several times and she had said everything was fine, better than she could have ever hoped, but I wouldn't really feel like she was safe until she was back in LA. She had promised me, but I knew her too well. She had done something that I was going to have a heart attack when I heard about it.  
  
"You're mom's worried about you," I said when she called to tell me she was about to run her checklist and leave. "Kayla told her you were gone and I told her Zack had asked for you to meet him."  
  
I was waiting for her to get pissed. Instead she sounded okay with it. "Good," she said. Okay, was that an 'I'm going to kill you' good or a 'good' good? It's hard to tell with women. "Why don't you have her meet us at our apartment? That way I can tell all the details once and not a bunch of times."  
  
I hesitated, a horrible thought entering my head. Was this the real Jhondie? I know people say that in jest all the time, but she had been playing with Manticore lately. I wouldn't put anything past those people to have a clone or something. Someone close, but not close enough to know little details like how mad she was at her mother. "You sure?" I asked hesitantly.  
  
"I'm sure," she replied. "I know, it sounds weird, but I've had time to think the last couple of days, and I need to deal with it instead of pretending it doesn't exist, you know?"  
  
That's what I had been trying to tell her for months. Knowing her, Zack told her to ignore it, so of course she was going to do the opposite and take care of the problem. "I'll let her know," I promised. We said our good-byes and then hung up. I did as I said and called her mom and let her know. Ashley was confused as well at the sudden change of heart, but there wasn't anything I could add. Jhondie was just being, well, Jhondie. She was, without a doubt, one of the most stubborn people that I had ever met in my life.  
  
Luckily, she had given me time to make my meeting with Eyes Only. We had some things to go over that Nikki had submitted. Good stuff about police taking bribes to ignore major drug trafficking. She was still annoyed that I was going over everything, but hey, that was part of the deal. I wasn't going to give the boss anything that wasn't complete. I had my reputation with him on the line. She was good, no doubt, but there had been a few little detail things that she had missed and I needed to fill in before a hack could be done.  
  
I turned on the computer and checked the time. I didn't think I was going to have to cut it short to be able to pick up Jhondie on time, but if I had to, I had to. A few minutes later, Eyes Only came on. I opened up my notes on what I wanted to go over. No time for chitchat today.  
  
"Hey," I greeted quickly. "Okay, I found those source files that you needed to fill in that gap from Nikki's report. It's in the upload, so that shouldn't be a problem. She wanted to know if you had an ETA for a hack though. I think she wants to make sure she can tape them."  
  
He was just watching me for a moment, like he was expecting something. "Problem?" I asked, more sharply than I intended to. I really didn't have time if he was pissed about something we had done. Not that he should have a reason to be pissed anyways. He had gotten some damn good stuff lately.  
  
"Should there be?" he replied.  
  
I bit back a sharp retort. "I'm low on time today," I said quickly. "I have to pick someone up soon, personal business." I would have sworn that the man was trying to hold back a laugh. Granted, all I could see were his eyes, but it was like there was this big joke that I wasn't being let in on.  
  
"The next hack there is going to be in about two days," he finally said, still sounding amused about something. "But I need some clean up on the immigrant smuggling story."  
  
I blew out a breath. This was more like it. "Okay," I said, getting out my notes. "I received your questions on that, and the border area is about sixteen miles west of the checkpoint." I would have sworn the man smirked at me, but he got back down to business and we were able to get everything taken care of rather quickly. Most of it was detail work. Nitpicky stuff, but essential to him. Everything had to be documented and proven before he would do a hack on it. That was the essence of Eyes Only. I had thought many times in the last couple of years what I would be like if I could have my own publication that wasn't government censored, and these were the kinds of standards that would be upheld. No speculation would be allowed. Everything would be documented and proven before it went to print so that when the story came out, nobody would be able to decry it and say there was no proof. Justice would be served because nobody could wiggle out and hide behind powerful friends.  
  
As soon as we were done, I called Ashley to let her know that Jhondie was coming home and told her we were going to meet her over at her house. Jhondie wanted to talk and tell us all what had happened. She was as confused as I was over the sudden change of heart, but she wasn't about to complain. Though I was really wondering if Jhondie had accepted things or not. She hadn't wanted to hear about it, but Dad and I talked more than once. He and Ashley were still together and still keeping it quiet. They were both happy with the arrangement. I couldn't see how you could care about someone and want to keep it a secret, but Dad had just laughed and said that he wasn't about to attempt to explain it. I couldn't complain though. I did not want to see them together like that. I could deal with knowing things were going on, but to see it would just be weird.  
  
I got to the airport and within a few minutes caught sight of our plane coming downwind for a final approach. She made the last turn and floated the plane right down the centerline. Ten minutes later, the plane was pulling onto the tarmac in front of the hanger. Jhondie shut down the engines and the practically leapt out of the plane and into my arms.  
  
I didn't realize until then that I was able to start breathing easily again when she was with me. I stopped kissing her for a minute, made sure she wasn't bruised, scarred or broken anywhere and then pulled her back into another kiss. I didn't care that the cast was keeping me off-balance either. I'm sure half of what we were doing right there was against some FAA regulation, but I had been worried as hell about her for the last several days, and I wasn't going to let her go with just a peck on the cheek.  
  
Not that she was protesting either, I might add, but finally we pulled away from each other long enough for me to get a really good look at her. She was beaming. You can't fake that kind of happy. She grinned, wiggled against me, and whispered, "I'm going with you are happy to see me."  
  
I laughed, and swung her around. Tricky to do on one leg, but I managed. "I just hope you enjoyed the last time you're going anywhere without me."  
  
She gave me another kiss. "As soon as you're out of that thing, we've got a little trip to take."  
  
My eyebrows rose in question. She just laughed. "Let me put it to you like this. Bryn was the smallest surprise the last few days." I was ready to grill her, but she got free and finished putting the plane to order, refusing to answer another question. I had gone from not wanting to ever let her be a breath away from me to wanting to strangle her in less than five minutes. But damn, I was glad to have her home.  
  
On the way over to her mother's house, Jhondie insisted I tell her what I had been up to for the last couple of days. I wanted to talk to her about what she had been doing, but she kept swearing she just didn't want to repeat the story again, and it was too long to tell during the ride. Yeah right. She was so thrilled with something, she could hardly contain herself. It was that 'I know something you don't know' thing that little kids do. If we hadn't been in the car, I would have tickled it out of her.  
  
We got to her mother's and went in. Jhondie's playfulness shut off like a spigot the minute she walked in and saw her mother and sister. Ashley stood and her and Jhondie just stared at each other for a minute. And then Jhondie walked to her mother and gave her a big hug.  
  
I think all of us took a deep breath then. No bloodshed to be committed. This was a good thing. I had come up closer, and heard Jhondie whisper, "I'm still creeped. That's not going away. But I can try to deal."  
  
Ashley sniffed, trying not to burst into tears in front of Kayla. Kay was looking rather thoughtful, and I had a feeling that maybe Kat had figured a few things out on her own and let Kay in on it. Kat had the life experience to understand tensions like these. Ashley and Jhondie hugged for a long time and then Jhondie's stomach let out a loud growl.  
  
Jhondie stepped back, blushing. "I wanted to get home sooner, so all I had was coffee for breakfast today," she said.  
  
I mock gasped. "You poor thing. You must be on the verge of collapse. But you're still going to tell us what the hell happened."  
  
She laughed and looked at us. "Okay, quick version and then details over food. Went to Seattle, met up with Zack, met up with my sister Max, got the details, ran to Manticore, got Bryn, back to Seattle, got Zack back together with his wife, hung out with Eyes Only for a day, came home. So, how does Chinese sound to you guys for lunch?"  
  
That look of absolute glee said she knew exactly what kind of a bomb she had just dropped on all of us. And as much as we knew she had planned it, all three of us stood there, stupefied.  
  
"Went to Manticore?" her mother gasped.  
  
"Hung out with whom?" I demanded.  
  
"Got Zack back with his wife?" Kayla cried.  
  
Jhondie grinned. "Manticore's medical, not training facility. Limited defenses. Pretty easy stuff. Eyes Only. Guy we've done a lot of stuff for in the past. Max knew who he was and introduced us. Great guy. Good cook too. And I'm really sorry Kay, but I had to. She's having his baby."  
  
Ashley looked down, her fingertips pressed against her temples. "I don't care where we go for lunch," she said, "but it better have a bar."  
  
"Second that," I muttered.  
  
"I think I deserve one too," Kayla sniffed.  
  
Jhondie laughed and grabbed the car keys. "Come on. I can't wait to tell you all about what might be the beginning of the end of Manticore."  
  
I blinked. "Are you serious?"  
  
She looked at me directly. "Alicia, the one hauling around Zack's kid is an X-6. She went rogue. Just another '09." The playfulness was gone and there was dead serious triumph glittering in her eyes. Another '09. I knew that expression. It was the one those guys in Boston used. Oh my God, I thought. They found a way. There were a lot of details that Jhondie wouldn't go into around her mother and sister, but later, she would tell me. The cute and funny stories would be out in the open. No wonder she wanted to wait to explain. Somehow, someway, they had found a chink in the armor, and figured out how to use it.  
  
"You're kidding about the Eyes Only thing aren't you?" I asked.  
  
Again there was that glitter that said she was putting on a show for the family. "I had you going for a minute though!"  
  
I shook my head. "Ashley, I'll buy the first round." They all laughed and we started to leave.  
  
Jhondie was standing behind me and leaned up, whispering in my ear, "Logan is actually Max's boyfriend. And he really can cook." I paused and turned to look into her grinning face. "I invited them to the wedding," she said. "Hope you don't mind."  
  
I could only let out a little laugh. It was the only way to express everything I was feeling right then. "We've got a lot of talking to do tonight, don't we?"  
  
Her smiled faded a little, but it still hovered about her lips. "We won, Justin," she said very softly. "I didn't think it was ever going to be possible to really win. There was only one way but it happened. And we did." She looked a little shocked, like it hadn't really sunk in yet. "We really won, Justin. Not all the way yet, but in a few more years, it's going to really be over."  
  
I hugged her. I couldn't imagine what it felt like for her to have a light at the end of the tunnel finally. To know that all of her dreams that she had thought were impossible might actually not be fantasy after all. We were embarking into a whole new world, new territory to cover, but we could do it.  
  
No matter how bad the nightmare, eventually, the sleeper must awake. 


	18. Epilogue

Justin  
  
"The investigation into Braymer is only beginning," Eyes Only said in his hack, thousands of TV's broadcasting the message. "This operation is only the top layer. And what the police are being paid to not find, the Informant Net will. Peace. Out."  
  
The screens went black, and then back to their regular programming. Eyes Only, Logan Cale, the man I had looked up to for so many years, spun his chair around, putting his glasses back on and shrugged. "And that's a hack," he said.  
  
Personally, I was torn between clapping or just throwing myself to the ground in a "we're not worthy" manner. Jhondie was out with Max, not caring that there was history in the making going on right here in this penthouse apartment. I was from LA, I should have been jaded to seeing someone famous in person, but this might just have been the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life.  
  
"So now what do you do?" I asked, feeling a little breathless.  
  
He glanced at his watch. "Now I make sure dinner is ready before Max gets home." He stood. "If she comes back from an Eyes Only errand and there's no food on the table, there's hell to pay."  
  
I laughed, feeling more relaxed now. Logan and I had a lot of things in common, the least of which was how to keep fed a transgenic woman.  
  
The trip to Seattle had taken place the day after Jhondie's college graduation, which had been the second week of May. Travel out of Seattle was difficult right then, so Max and Logan weren't able to come to the graduation, but I had called one of my brokerage firms up there, said I wanted to talk about some long tem things, and they had me set up with all access passes for both Jhondie and I, no problem. So now we were here, Seattle in the springtime and I was still in a state of total awe.  
  
Right after Jhondie got back, I had been introduced to Logan and Max via the computer. But it was different seeing them in real life. He was the quintessential rich guy and she was total ghetto. Them living together should have been the premise of a sitcom but it seemed to work for them. I noticed that Max tended to draw Logan out, keep him from being chained to the computer day and night. He had been a workaholic before they met, so Max explained. Dedicated, he described it. Boring, she countered. No, focused. I'm sure they would have gone on, but Jhondie and I were laughing so hard by that point, their argument wasn't being heard and appreciated.  
  
But Logan and Max weren't the only people there I wanted to meet. Zack was gone when we were there, but Alicia was settled in an apartment in a better area of town. Just another young newlywed with a baby on the way whose husband traveled a lot for business. Of course Jhondie was currently furious with Zack because he had removed Bryn from Seattle and wouldn't tell her where she was. He said she was fine and I guess Bryn was still so upset from her ordeal that she had taken to heart warnings that keeping separate would be the only way to prevent a repeat. Sick to play on fears like that, but I knew Zack thought he was doing the right thing. He was having a hard enough time with Jhondie and Alicia and Max. Neither of them were exactly the obedient type.  
  
When we went over to meet Alicia, I was expecting some Valkyrie type warrior. Jhondie had described her, but I couldn't get the image of some six-foot blonde wearing leather and fur with a broadsword by her side. Instead she barely came up to my chest, couldn't have been more that 5' 4" or so. Tiny little thing. She was very pregnant by that point and looked like she was out of some housekeeping magazine or something. I would have expected her to be hanging by her ankles, blindfolded while she put a gun together. Instead she was baking muffins.  
  
I thought we had the wrong place. It was the only thing that made sense until, after the polite introductions, she went to the kitchen and pulled out the muffins and took a bite, wrinkling her nose slightly. "This should not be difficult," she said. "Cooking is the same as building a bomb, just with edible components. It's all just chemistry." She sighed and smiled slightly. "But I've improved a great deal. Not quite the bakery, but they should be perfected in a few more tries."  
  
I had never read that before in "Better Homes and Gardens". I still think I would have been okay if it wasn't for the fly. One had been buzzing around the kitchen. I hadn't noticed. That's why flies did. Until, in a motion so fast it was a blur, Alicia grabbed a knife off of the counter and flicked it towards the wall. Did I mention this wall was less than a foot from my head? I ducked, almost falling out of my chair and glanced up. The fly was neatly skewered.  
  
My jaw dropped. That was mom and Zack was dad. This poor kid was screwed.  
  
Alicia was looking at me, obviously confused. Her gaze turned to Jhondie. "Do all norms panic that easily?"  
  
Jhondie laughed. "We're from LA. We take thrown knives seriously."  
  
Alicia smiled at me benevolently. "I never miss," she said, not arrogantly, but with perfect confidence in herself. "Muffin?"  
  
Jhondie  
  
I had to appreciate Justin more after our trip to Seattle. Alicia scared the hell out of him. He thought Max was insane and her friends were worse. Logan, well, Logan he could get used to easily. It was more than a little weird to correlate Eyes Only with the real person, but Justin had no problem working on that. Still, he was making a very valiant effort to get to know and be comfortable around my extended family, and I loved him all the more for it.  
  
Speaking of being comfortable, Kat had finally gotten him his new car. I'm not saying Justin loved it or anything, but we drove to Seattle rather than fly. The car was sweet. I didn't know much about them, but I could tell from the moment they drove it around to the front of their little shack in the junkyard. Justin had never been a "car guy" but even he fell in love. The thing just oozed power and seemed to say, "yes, I know, go ahead and stare, I know you can't help yourself". Kat had a great time showing us all of the extras that she and Scott had put in. There were hidden compartments that were so well done even I missed the tiny hinges. The interior was lush, inviting. And Kat immediately pointed out that she had made sure the backseat wouldn't cause a neck cramp. I made a mental note to have it cleaned, and went on exploring all of the little gadgets that were installed in the dash. I know Justin was impressed because when he gave Kat the check for it, she gasped, her eyes getting huge. I think she was trying to say that it was way more than what she was expecting, but only gibberish was coming out. Justin had smiled, told her it was called a tip and said that he thinks the difference was the exact amount of the motorcycle that she had been lusting after for quite some time. She had nodded, and then run inside, clutching the check and cackling gleefully.  
  
But Seattle was well worth the trip. It was really going to be my last chance to relax for oh, maybe the next four years or so. Justin and I were getting married the last Saturday in July and then we were going on a long honeymoon. When I got back, I was going to have to get prepped and then start medical school. I had to admit I was really nervous now that it was really on me. Since my first day of college I had concentrated so hard on getting into medical school, now I was in and in a just a few years I was going to be a real doctor. Four years might seem like a long time, but sometimes it seemed like Justin and I couldn't have been together that long, yet we had been for over three years now.  
  
But now I had another source of encouragement. Max was excited about me becoming a doctor. She figured with as many scrapes as she got in, having someone around that wouldn't ask for a blood sample would be a good thing. She also pointed out that when "Baby Boo", as she was referring to Zack and Alicia's impending bundle of joy, needed a medical release or something like that for school, it would be good to have a doctor that wouldn't need to ask questions that nobody wanted to answer.  
  
For now, life was good. Mom and I had done a lot of talking. Real talking and not just shouting accusations at each other. She wasn't in love with Tom. As a good friend, yes, she loved him, but not in a 'let's get married and have a couple of late babies' sort of way. I was still creeped. But they were really careful not to show it in front of us, and I could deal with it. I had never realized how lonely she had been. I knew she had dated a few guys since Dad died, but I didn't know she had actually slept with two of them. They had made her feel like a score. I knew what she meant. It's what I had felt like when I was younger and made some bad mistakes when I was in a bad way. Tom made her feel like she was special. Cheesy as it sounds, it was true. He still wanted to be her friend as much as her lover, and that was rare to find in a man. So, she was happy. I told her that if I ever so much as once was asked to return a bra to her that she had left over at his place, I was never going to talk to them again. She had laughed and said that was perfectly understandable. Like I said, still creeped, but dealing a whole lot better with it.  
  
So many of the things I had wanted all my life were right there now. I had Mom and Kay and now Max. It wasn't all of my brothers and sisters, but it was a start. I was starting to like Alicia. Anyone that could make Zack run in circles like that was deserving of a standing ovation. Logan had been a part of my life for a long time, and now we could go from respect to a real friendship so long as he never hurt my sister and therefore forced me to wad him into a tiny ball. I had Justin and his family, and soon they were going to really be part of mine as well.  
  
I sat up on the Space Needle for a while on our last night in Seattle. It was raining lightly, chiller here than in LA. I could visit here a lot, I thought, but this could never be my home. I had a home. I had my family. Manticore had been dealt a death blow. It might writhe about for a while, even more dangerous for a short flare up, but it wasn't going to last much longer.  
  
Home.  
  
Family.  
  
Freedom.  
  
Whatever else was out there for me, I could deal with. I already had everything else I wanted.  
  
THE END 


End file.
